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Lansdowne Park

Coordinates: 45°23′57″N 75°40′59″W / 45.399166°N 75.683119°W / 45.399166; -75.683119
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Isaacl (talk | contribs) at 20:53, 4 January 2011 (→‎Redevelopment: partial self-reversion: since note on debt repayment is already included with current plan, keep note on debt repayment for alternate plan). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lansdowne Park
Map
TypeExposition grounds
Location1015 Bank Street,
Ottawa
Opened1868

Lansdowne Park is a 40-acre (16 ha)[1] historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located along Bank Street and is adjacent to the Rideau Canal, in central Ottawa. Lansdowne Park contains Frank Clair Stadium, the Urbandale Centre arena (the stadium is built into the arena), the Aberdeen Pavilion hall, Coliseum and other exhibition buildings. Until 2010, the Park was the site of the annual Central Canada Exhibition (Ottawa SuperEX).

History

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In 1847, the then Bytown was deeded 24.5 acres (9.9 ha) acres by the Dominion government, and acquired another 15 acres (6.1 ha) bought from owners over several years, to make up the initial grounds of Lansdowne Park. Two notable exhibitions occurred prior to the first Central Canada Exhibition. In 1875 the City of Ottawa hosted the thirtieth annual Exhibition of the Provincial Agricultural and Arts Association. In 1877 an exhibition included the first public demonstration of the telephone in Canada.[2]

A third provincial exhibition was held at Lansdowne Park in 1879. In order to provide sufficient space for subsequent fairs, the City acquired more of Lansdowne Park in 1883 for $25,000, as well as the buildings that were already there.[2] The Central Canada Exhibition Association was formed in 1888 and the site witnessed many improvements, including the erection of a new Horticultural Hall and Grandstand. The first Central Canada Exhibition opened on September 20, 1888 and has been held annually ever since.[2]

The Aberdeen Pavilion has also figured prominently in military matters: troops of Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal Horse were encamped there during the Boer War; the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry mustered there before being sent to France in the First World War; and during World War II it served as an induction centre for thousands of Canadian troops heading overseas and was the home to The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards).

The City of Ottawa periodically reviews the use and state of the facility. Lansdowne Park originally was a park with sports fields. Since that time, buildings have been built on the site, and today a majority of the site is paved, both for parking and for exhibition use. As the result of a review in the 1990s, the City demolished some of the buildings, and restored some parkland. The City restored Aberdeen Pavilion at the time, using funds planned for a Central Canada Ex move, in exchange for allowing the Ex to continue to use the site.[3]

Sports usage

Lansdowne Park, 1950s

Lansdowne Park has long been the primary sports facility in Ottawa. The sports venues located on the site have played host to championships in curling, figure skating, Canadian football, ice hockey and Association football. The Aberdeen Pavilion hosted Stanley Cup championship games in 1904 played by the Ottawa Silver Seven.[2] The Civic Centre has hosted the Canadian Men's curling championship, Canadian and World championships in figure skating and the Memorial Cup Canadian junior-age ice hockey championships.

In particular, Frank Clair Stadium and its outdoor field has a long history of sports usage in baseball, football, lacrosse and soccer. The stadium has held Grey Cup football and World Cup Under 20 soccer championships. Before the south stands were built, the field was a combination baseball, outdoor lacrosse and football facility. The Ottawa Giants and Ottawa Athletics professional baseball teams used the facility from 1951 to 1954. In football, the Ottawa Rough Riders and Ottawa Renegades professional football teams used the field until 2005. Today the University of Ottawa football team uses the field. The Ottawa Lacrosse Club and the Ottawa Capitals lacrosse clubs used the field from before 1900 for field lacrosse.[4]

A 0.25 miles (0.40 km) dirt track existed at the field and it was used initially for horse racing. In 1955, it was converted to host stock car racing. The track was extended to 0.33 miles (0.53 km), banked and paved in 1957. Successful financially, the stock cars were evicted from the site after lobbying by local residents.[5] Race promoter Gerry Bisson then built a race track west of Ottawa in Stittsville, Ontario (now part of Ottawa) which is today known as Capital City Speedway.[6]

The Horticulture Building, built in 1914, was designed for winter use as a curling rink with seasonal exhibition uses. Other buildings including the General Purpose Building and the McElroy Building, both since demolished, also had sheets of ice installed for curling.[7]

Exhibition and entertainment usage

The site hosted the annual Central Canada Exhibition, also known as the 'Ottawa Super Ex' from 1888 until 2010.[8] The Exhibition would use the full site, offering agricultural and cultural exhibits, midway rides and various entertainments for 10 days every year in August. The Central Canada Exhibition Association (CCEA) was the primary manager of Lansdowne Park for the City until turning over operation of the Park to the City on May 1, 1973.[2] The Central Canada Exhibition completed its last season at Lansdowne Park in August 2010. While the CCEA owns some land south of Ottawa, near Rideau Carleton Raceway, the Association does not have money to build on the site for 2011 and has not announced its plans for 2011.[8]

The Civic Centre and Coliseum buildings are used regularly for other exhibitions such as home shows, industrial exhibitions and conventions, including political conventions. Since 1967, when the Ottawa Auditorium was demolished, Lansdowne Park has become a site of musical concerts, both inside the Civic Centre and outside on the Stadium field. Although the Scotiabank Place arena was built in 1996 and hosts the largest indoor concerts in Ottawa, the Civic Centre continues to host musical concerts.

Redevelopment

Main article: Lansdowne Park redevelopment
View of outdoor square with pavilions and low-rise and high-rise buildings behind.
Depiction of new "mixed-use" area north of the stadium. The new tower at Holmwood and Bank is in the background, while the condominium construction can be seen to the right. The view is from south of the Aberdeen Pavilion.

In September 2007, cracks were found in Frank Clair Stadium, necessitating the demolition of a portion of its south-side stands. The City of Ottawa subsequently started a review to redevelop Lansdowne Park. A group of Ottawa businessmen, known as the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), were awarded a new Canadian Football League franchise in March 2008, contingent on securing a stadium in which to play.[9] OSEG proposed a public-private partnership with the city to rebuild the stadium and redevelop the grounds with residential and commercial uses to finance the reconstruction and annual upkeep of the site.[10] Ottawa City Council decided to enter into a partnership with the OSEG group and abandoned its own review.[11]

The redevelopment plan split into two components after the City rejected the portion of the OSEG proposal regarding the lands bordering the Rideau Canal. OSEG was assigned the precinct around the Stadium and along Bank Street, while a design competition was held for an urban park to be located along the Canal.[12] The OSEG plan envisions two towers along Bank Street, a new set of grandstands at the football stadium and a new residential and commercial precinct to the north of the Stadium. The new greenspace along the Rideau Canal frontage is intended as a new front lawn for Lansdowne.[13] The cost to the city for the stadium renovation and its share of the parking development is $129.3 million. OSEG's funding of the commercial redevelopment and its share of the parking is $118 million.[14][15][16] In addition, the city has budgeted $35 million for the urban park development, and $8.5 million for a new trade show and exhibition hall to replace the existing space at Lansdowne, for a total project cost of $290.8 million, $172.8 million coming from the city.[14] The city retains ownership of the site, leasing the commercial and retail component to pay off the debt under a revenue-sharing formula with OSEG.[14]

The redevelopment plan has been opposed by some Ottawa residents, particularly those near the Lansdowne site. Heritage activists have objected to a plan to move a heritage building on the site.[17] The plan faces court challenges and a review before the Ontario Municipal Board before it can proceed to construction.[18] Proponents of legally mandated competitive bidding offered another alternative called the Lansdowne Park Conservancy who are partnered with international stadium design firm NBBJ with a stadium and park bid.[19] The $98 million proposal includes a heritage restoration of the park and a renovated stadium.[20] Under this plan the city would fund the entire redevelopment cost, repaid through site revenue, so it would retain 100% ownership of the site without providing commercial rights to a third-party developer.[21][22]

References

Notes
  1. ^ CHRML, p. 5
  2. ^ a b c d e "Historical Dates". Lansdownepark.ca. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  3. ^ "Moving the Grounds". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  4. ^ "The Sporting World". Ottawa Citizen. April 21, 1899. p. 6.
  5. ^ "Speedway Nostalgia - Lansdowne Park". Speedway Nostalgia. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  6. ^ Truemner, Dave. "History of Lansdowne Speedway: Early Stock Car Racing in Ottawa". Canadian Racer. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  7. ^ CHRML 2010, p. 16.
  8. ^ a b Mazey, Steven (August 30, 2010). "SuperEx's Lansdowne days come to a close". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  9. ^ CBC Sports (2008-03-25). "Capital gains: CFL welcomes back Ottawa". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  10. ^ Stevenson, Chris (October 18, 2008). "Lansdowne foes offside ...by turning announcement into a circus". Slam Sports. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  11. ^ Rupert, Jake (April 23, 2009). "City to negotiate for sole-source deal; Council's decision could spell the end for Melnyk's plan for Kanata soccer stadium". Ottawa Citizen. p. C1.
  12. ^ Dare, Patrick (November 17, 2009). "Touchdown, Ottawa; Council OKs redevelopment of Lansdowne Park". Ottawa Citizen. p. A1.
  13. ^ Butler, Don (June 12, 2010). "Lansdowne Park. Room to play; There's nothing black or white in current plans for greenspace". Ottawa Citizen. p. B1.
  14. ^ a b c City of Ottawa (2010). "Business Model". Lansdowne Partnership Plan: Fact sheets. City of Ottawa. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  15. ^ City of Ottawa (2010-06-09). "Lansdowne Partnership Plan: Report to Council June 9, 2010" (PDF). City of Ottawa. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  16. ^ "Business Model". City of Ottawa. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  17. ^ Mueller, Laura (October 28, 2010). "Heritage Ottawa will push for provincial intervention at Lansdowne". Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  18. ^ "Group takes city to court over Lansdowne Park". CTV News Ottawa. September 10, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  19. ^ World Interior Design Network November 23, 2010 http://www.worldinteriordesignnetwork.com/news/lansdowne_park_conservancy_nbbj_submit_lansdowne_park_redevelopment_proposal_101123/
  20. ^ Ottawa Sun, Jon Willing Sept 14, 2010 http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/09/14/15351306.html
  21. ^ Lansdowne Park Conservancy (2010-11-15). "Development Proposal Lansdowne Park" (PDF). Lansdowne Park Conservancy. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  22. ^ The Glebe Report December 10, 2010 http://lpc-cpl.ca/articles/dec10.html
Bibliography

45°23′57″N 75°40′59″W / 45.399166°N 75.683119°W / 45.399166; -75.683119

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