Lansdowne – 2025-01

Submitted by Alexandra Gruca-Macaulay

Lansdowne 2.0 Impact on Taxpayers

• Lansdowne 2.0 will require a minimum of $313M of new City of Ottawa debt, that will be repaid by annual payments of $16.4M a year for 40 years.
• This is in addition to the $100M that is still being repaid by the City for Lansdowne 1.0.
• For regular capital projects, there is a cap on how much the City can increase property taxes, but Lansdowne is designated a “legacy” project and there is no limit to the amount taxes can be raised to cover Lansdowne debt.
• The Lansdowne business plan has failed to date, and operations have lost money since the start of operations in 2012.

John Dance letter to Ottawa Citizen (January 3) – Don’t rubber-stamp Lansdowne, council

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/todays-letters-stop-lansdowne-approval-process-in-2025

TD Place, as it stands, is hosting its last World Juniors, Dec. 27. Hopefully, Ottawa Council will not rubber-stamp the Lansdowne 2.0 expenditure of close to$500 million as Don Brennan advocates in his column.

Instead, council should come to its senses and realize that there are far more important investments than 2.0; Lansdowne already had a relatively recent $200-million upgrade; and, if the city really needs a new entertainment centre, it should be in a location that is readily accessible by transit and car, something that will never be the case at Lansdowne Park.

Councillors have endorsed a 3.9 per cent tax increase for the coming year. If they approve Lansdowne 2.0, taxpayers can look forward to even greater increases in future years. John Dance, Ottawa

January 15-16 public information sessions on North Side Stands design: in-person and virtual

From Engage Ottawa site:

“19 Dec 2024

The Site Plan for the Lansdowne 2.0 North Side Stands is ready for public review. Staff will report to Council in Q4 2025 on the final package of approvals, including the construction bid price, air rights bid price, legal agreements, and any required funding strategy amendments prior to construction.

There will be an in-person and a virtual Public Information Session this winter where you can learn more about the plan for the North Side Stands:

• Wednesday, January 15, from 6:30 to 8 pm In-person Inside Gate 2 at TD Arena
• Thursday, January 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm Virtual – Register Here (External link)
• You can also email us at lansdownerenewal@ottawa.ca (External link).”

Screenshot and link to photo gallery renderings of the current design at Engage Ottawa:

https://engage.ottawa.ca/lansdowne-2-0/widgets/125086/photos