“The City has taken a critical step today towards developing a new vision for Lansdowne Park – a vision that supports a thriving, active and relevant sports, entertainment and cultural facility in the heart of our community. This is also a big step forward in bringing a Canadian Football League team back to Ottawa, “ said Mayor Larry O’Brien.

Council included a number of conditions to the negotiations with OSEG, including that: the City continue to support the Central Canada Exhibition’s relocation to the Albion Road site; the municipal contribution to the project be limited to a dollar amount to be established during the negotiations and not increase the overall cost to the taxpayer; and, any revenues generated from a revitalized Lansdowne Park will not be used to subsidize any professional sports teams.

Council’s decision follows a staff evaluation and public consultation on two unsolicited stadium proposals received from OSEG in October 2008 and Senators Sports and Entertainment (SS&E) in January 2009. Any future consideration of the SSE proposal by Council has been deferred pending the outcome of the negotiations with OSEG.

“I want to thank both the OSEG and the SS&E teams for bringing these two proposals to the table, and for the amount of effort, hard work and initiative they put into their respective projects,” said Mayor O’Brien. “It speaks volumes about their commitment to this city and community.”

City Council has asked staff to complete their negotiations with OSEG in 60 days. Following the negotiations, staff will report back to Council, and Ottawa residents will have an opportunity to review and comment on any proposed development plans.

For more information on the stadium proposals evaluation, visit ottawa.ca/stadiums or contact 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401).

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