Ottawa committee votes in favour of Lansdowne 2.0

A city committee approved Lansdowne 2.0 after two days of public debate. As CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports, the project is one step closer to reality.

Lansdowne 2.0 is one step closer to become a reality.

The finance and corporate services committee voted 8-3 in favour of the project that would overhaul Lansdowne park Thursday evening after a two-day long meeting.

Councillors Matthew Luloff, Laura Dudas, Cathy Curry, Glen Gower, Tim Tierney, David Brown, Catherine Kitts and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe voted yes, while councillors Rawlson King, Jeff Leiper and Shawn Menard voted no. Coun. Riley Brockington was absent.

The final vote on the $418.8 million project will be held at a city council meeting on Nov. 7.

About two dozen more public delegations weighed in on Lansdowne 2.0 Thursday, after more than 10 hours of discussion on Wednesday.

The committee heard from dozens of public delegations against and in favour of the $418.8 million project during the two days of meetings.

“I was really encouraged by the delegations who came and spoke to us,” Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told reporters after the vote Thursday.

“Every single one of them had the city’s best interest at heart and I’m very grateful for all of those presentations.”

The final public delegation wrapped up just after 1:15 p.m. Thursday. It took approximately 14 hours over two days to hear from everyone.

Several people who spoke Wednesday addressed the size of the future hockey arena, and centred around concerns the Professional Women’s Hockey League has about the profitability of the Ottawa Charge.

The future of the Ottawa Redblacks was also discussed. The CFL team is only guaranteed to remain in Ottawa until 2032, but Lansdowne 2.0 would extend the partnership between the city and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) to 2075.

“I imagine there will be questions about the length of commitment and I hope that the owners of the Redblacks and the 67’s are prepared to make a longer commitment to Ottawa than just 2032, if we’re to proceed with this plan,” Sutcliffe told reporters Wednesday.

CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston told the committee on Wednesday he’s very confident in the future growth of the league.

“I referenced the 112th Grey Cup and point to the longevity of this league and its ability to thrive throughout the ups and downs and turmoils that other leagues have not been able to handle,” he said. “We feel so strongly about the future of the league and Ottawa is an incredibly important market for us and the ownership group there is one of the strongest that we have.”

Critics question project’s finances

John Dance, a resident of Old Ottawa East, spoke against the plan Thursday.

He tells CTV News Ottawa he’s very much against Lansdowne 2.0.

“It’s far too expensive, it removes greenspace, it’s in a location that won’t work because of horrible transportation, it’s using money for passive recreation, when we really need money being spent on active recreation in all the wards in Ottawa, and it’s been poorly consulted and being rushed through,” he said in an interview.

“OSEG has been a very poor partner in my opinion. They were supposed to provide the city with $94 million by now. They’ve provided nothing to the city.”

A recent report showed that the Lansdowne partnership posted an $11 million loss in 2024-25, marking its 11th straight year of revenue losses. Revenues grew by six per cent in 2024-25, but expenses grew by seven per cent.

Dance also said there could be improvements to the facilities, but they don’t require what the plan is proposing.

“There’s no doubt there needs to be improvements to accessibility in the stadium and the arena, but the arena at its current size works well for certainly the Professional Women’s Hockey League and it works well for others,” he said. “Let’s make some improvements, get some better washrooms, but let’s not tear it all down… It’s just an utter waste. Any councillor who supports this should be defeated in the coming election.”

Accessibility at Lansdowne

A topic in delegations Thursday was around accessibility at TD Place.

Earlier this week, OSEG brought media into the facilities to show that the hockey arena and north-side stands are lacking in accessible features for people with disabilities, led by Marnie Peters, president of Accessibility Simplified.

Speaking at the committee meeting Thursday, Peters said renovations would not be sufficient to address the greater issues related to accessibility at Lansdowne, particularly for those who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids.

“This segment of our city community has been making do for over 30 years already. We’ve been making do with the patchwork approach, having washrooms that don’t quite meet our needs, needing assistance to get to our seats, having to move every time another person with a wheelchair wants to get to their seat that’s past where you’re sitting, not being able to reach your food or beverages on the count because it’s too high, or not being able to communicate with staff because there’s no assisted listening systems,” she said.

“While I totally agree the city has many community facilities that need funding for repairs, Lansdowne, including the arena and north-side stands, are supposed to be for all of the community. And this needs to include the 27 per cent of people in the Ottawa community that have self-identified as having a community. By continuing to question the need for Lansdowne 2.0, you’re essentially telling over one quarter of the population of the city of Ottawa that they aren’t valued. That they need to continue to make do.”

Kyle Humphrey, an accessibility advocate and wheelchair user, said accessibility should not be treated as a cost, but as an investment.

“Yes, these upgrades require capital, but what is the price tag of failure to act?” he said. “The real expense is the cost of exclusion. The endless cycle of government dependency, the debilitating burden of isolation, and the chronic mental health toll of being marginalized… Imagine the dehumanizing toll of being told, ‘you are too expensive to include.’”

He closed by urging councillors to “vote for access, vote for dignity.”

What’s in Lansdowne 2.0?

The Lansdowne 2.0 plan will overhaul the current park, replacing the north-side stadium stands and the Civic Centre, and will include more housing.

The plan includes:

• A $176 million new Event Centre to replace the aging Civic Centre, with a capacity of 6,600 fans for hockey games (5,850 seats), and 7,000 for concerts.
• $118.38 million for a new north-side stands at TD Place to replace the aging stands, with 11,200 seats for football, 900 standing room spaces and approximately 25,000 square feet of administrative offices.
• Staff say there will be “improvements to the Urban Park,” including 12,700 square metres of public green space and 6,280 square metres of public plaza space.
• A total of 4,550 square metres of replacement retail space within a two-storey podium design, including a “grand entrance” to the new north-side stands.
• A private development for two residential towers, up to 40 storeys in height, with approximately 770 units with a mix of condominium, apartment rental and hotel units.

The City of Ottawa will also spend $19.2 million for the new underground parking facility for the new condo towers.

Staff recommend approving a contract with EBC Inc. to build the new event centre and north-side stands at TD Place. Toronto-based developer Mirabella Development Corporation has been selected as the preferred bidder for the two residential towers and a retail podium.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Natalie van Rooy, Leah Larocque and Josh Pringle

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