Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group’s proposal for the next phase of Lansdowne Park’s revitalization includes a new arena and concert venue, a new stadium structure on the north side with more than twice the current retail space below, and 1,200 new housing units.
OSEG’s proposal, unveiled at a press conference at TD Place Stadium on Wednesday, will cost approximately $ 330 million, but will be “tax neutral”, according to OSEG President and CEO Mark Goody, who called it a “proposal and proposal for self-financing. “
The proposal follows the recommendations of city staff last June, which were approved by the city council next month.
Gaudi said the first phase of the plan involves moving the current Civic Center arena from its current location under the grandstands of the stadium on the north side to the eastern end of TD Place, where it will continue to act as a venue for both sports and concerts. indoors .
The stand-alone arena, which will remain home to OSEG-owned Ottawa 67 and the Ottawa BlackJacks basketball team, will be reduced to 5,500 seats and will host “world-class arts and entertainment, concerts and events aimed at a facility of this size.” according to OSEG.
There will be apartments opening onto the field and a green roof that will merge with the existing berm overlooking the Great Lawn in Lansdow Park.
The second phase of the reconstruction of Lansdowne Park will include 1,200 new housing units, 10 percent of which will be available, according to OSEG. (OSEG)
New north stands
The second phase will include a complete replacement of the grandstands on the north side with 11,100 seats on two levels (down from the current 14,000), plus two “fan decks” for mixing and “bunker apartments” at the field level, Goody said.
The new grandstands on the north side will be more upright than the current structure, which architect Barry Hobin called an inefficient and “complete space pig.”
“This is not a building for people and it is hardly a sports building,” said Hobin, whose company was used to design the municipal elements of the project, including the arena and stadium.
Gaudi agreed, calling the 1967 Civic Center and the north stands functionally obsolete. They are at the end of their lives and need to be replaced. “
The city has already spent $ 135 million on renovating the south stands of TD Place as part of the first phase of the revitalization of Lansdowne Park.
OSEG-owned Ottawa Redblacks and Atlético Ottawa will continue to call TD Place home.
Depiction of the proposed arena and venue for events during the concert. The stand-alone facility will be located at the eastern end of the TD Place field under a green roof, according to OSEG. (OSEG)
More retail space
The overhaul of the Civic Center also allows for more retail and mixed-use space, from the current 40,000 square feet to 100,000.
Rising above the new structure on the north side will be 1,200 new housing units, including both rental apartments and apartments. Preliminary drawings provided by OSEG show three tall buildings dominating downtown Lansdowne Park.
This is not a building for people and it is hardly a sports building. – Architect Barry Hobin on the north stand
Ten percent of the new housing units will be affordable, Goody promised.
The city will earn revenue from the sale of “air rights” on these residential towers, as well as additional taxes that it will collect from commercial tenants. The rest will come from “ticket fees and direct allocations to the city from the Lansdowne partnership”, according to OSEG.
As in the entire Lansdowne Park revitalization process, speakers at Wednesday’s press conference contrasted the new site with the “concrete jungle” that existed before, with one participant claiming Glebe’s site was “one place” before the renovation.
Construction may begin this year
Goudie said that in designing Lansdowne 2.0, OSEG and its partners adhered to the guiding principles set out by the city more than a decade ago.
“It’s about creating space and building,” he said.
According to OSEG, the construction of the new arena / event center may start later this year and be completed before 2025. The phased construction of the residential part may start in 2024 and continue until 2029, while the part for the stadium from the project will start in 2025 and open in 2027
Goody noted that before the first phase of the reconstruction of Lansdowne Park is completed in 2014, the site will attract only 250,000 visitors a year. Since then, the public-private partnership between OSEG and the city has attracted 20 million visitors, including 4.3 million in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic severely curtailed live events.
“I think that’s pretty remarkable,” Goody said. Lansdow is successful and I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to do with it.
Views of the Aberdeen Pavilion, the remarkable historic structure of Lansdowne Park, will be preserved and even improved by the new structure of the stadium on the north side, according to architect Barry Hobin. (OSEG)
The next logical step
Erin Benjamin, president and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association, applauded OSEG’s proposal at a new conference on Wednesday, saying the center’s event center would fill a much-needed gap in the city’s entertainment infrastructure.
“These facilities are getting old and the infrastructure just doesn’t meet the needs of musicians and artists, and as a result the tours go straight and we miss it,” Benjamin said.
Suling Ching, president and CEO of the Ottawa Board of Commerce, described OSEG’s proposal as a necessary step toward economic recovery after the pandemic.
“We need to take what is a functionally obsolete facility that struggles with compliance and current revenues, and turn it into a global, environmentally friendly, inclusive center of entertainment and lifestyle that will have a major economic impact on future generations.” said Ching, who also spoke at a news conference on Wednesday. “We are moving forward now or at risk of falling behind.
In the town hall on Wednesday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson promised a full debate on the OSEG proposal, but said he supported some aspects of it.
“The next logical step is to replace the north stands and [build] a revitalized Civic Center, an event center that is much more compatible with what musicians and traveling artists need – a smaller, more compact space. “
The Ottawa City Council will consider the proposal in May.
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