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CFL in Ottawa: Ottawa RedBlacks

Apparently Ottawa has been granted a conditional expansion franchise.

Can anyone confirm?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCF (Post 3138516)

Apparently Ottawa has been granted a conditional expansion franchise.

Can anyone confirm?

You guys in Saskatchewan know more than us here in Ottawa. I don't really follow the CFL since we don't have a team. I'd be surprised if it's true though, we're about to tear down a good chunk of the only stadium where they could play and we don't yet know how and when we're going to rebuild it and under which funding formula. There is supposed to be an international design competition to redevelop all of Lansdowne Park, but the local group who is spearheading Ottawa's CFL bid has come up with a plan of their own and is making their ownership of the team rest on their real estate plan.

It's so frustrating how people in Ottawa resist change just for the sake of resisting change. A survey released last week showed that 90% of those questioned stated that they would be completely against Lansdowne moving into private hands. How many of those people actually use Lansdowne Park? What is there to do other than using the sports arena and football stadium which would be better off privately-owned than being run by our cash-strapped city. The park needs to be redone and if it takes a private owner to do so then so be it! I actually really liked many of the aspects of the proposed plan....especially extending some of the waterway from the canal into the park. No one likes a park without a little water. I'm starting to think our city is going down the tubes at the hands of mettling residents who are determined to keep Ottawa in its pre-WWII form for no reason other than nostalgia. Gone are the days that Ottawa is a big city with a small town feel; we are a big city period.

Now lets stop beatting a dead horse when it comes to the CFL in Ottawa.
Its been proven repeatedly that a franchise just cant survive in Ottawa

Well like I said, expect an announcement in the near future. At least that's what I've been hearing. Bad ownership has hurt the CFL in Ottawa, maybe the new guys can make it look like they did the OHL. I don't understand why the CFL can't work in Ottawa. It's a shame that our own Capital city doesn't have a team.

:previous: Hey, who knows? Maybe third time is the charm? ;)

http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Football/2008/03/19/5047156.html

Quote:

Ottawa back in CFL Hunt

67's owner reportedly close to deal for expansion football franchise

By The Canadian Press

The CFL is close to completing a deal that would award a conditional expansion franchise to a group led by Ottawa 67’s owner Jeff Hunt, a report says.

The intention would be to have the team begin play in 2010, according to The Globe and Mail.

The deal, which has been in the works for months, was close to completion in recent days and the league had hoped to make an announcement in Ottawa this week

However, that plan was put off when the sides decided they needed more time to complete some details in a letter of intent for the CFL’s ninth franchise to be bought by Hunt and his partners, local developers Roger Greenberg, John Ruddy and William Shenkman.

The deal would be contingent on Hunt’s group securing an arrangement to utilize Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park, a complex slated for redevelopment after the southside stands were condemned last fall.

“We are in the middle of a confidential process and I can’t comment,” Hunt told The Globe.

While Hunt and the CFL still have some work to do, the major hurdles have been overcome and both sides are apparently confident the final details can be ironed out

Well, they've certainly managed the 67s well, and they are already based out of Lansdowne Park. I'm curious to find out what that means for the redevelopment plans. Perhaps they'll just rebuild the lower tier of the south stands.

At the same time that they redevelop the Southside stands I really hope that they build a few large parking structures in the interior of the park (i.e. away from the canal and Bank St.). That will make it much easier to redevelop the rest of the park when the time comes. It would be great if the new South stands were lower and wrapped around the endzones to make up for the losses in capacity (much like BMO Field).

http://web.mlsnet.com/t280/imgs/stadium/2006/north_rendering.jpg

I imagine having the stands at the far end of the rendering backing onto Bank Street, underneath which would be stores and restaurants facing out onto the street. There would be plenty of room for a large (decent-looking) 5 storey parking structure in behind the video screen and that would leave then entire Queen Elizabeth side of the park and the area around the Aberdeen Pavillion open for development (I don't call it redevelopment since I don't consider a pothole-ladened parking lot developed).

Wicked news. Bring back CFL ball.

There's a tentative deal to bring the CFL to Ottawa; one of the conditions is the rebuilding of at least part of the stadium:

From the Ottawa Citizen

The CFL coming back is good news... BUT...

Doesn't this sort of circumvent the Lansdowne design competition? It seems like these guys will only bring a franchise if they win the rights to develop Lansdowne. What happens if some other group wins the competition? Will they still bring the team? Or is it all or nothing?

Congrats, guys! I'm very excited to hear this news and can't wait to start playing you guys again! If you guys need a win, the Ti-Cats are always here for ya ;)

Thanks for those pictures. I miss those games.

By the way, anyone catch Maria Cook's article yesterday about stadiums? She interviews George Dark, a prominent and much celebrated urban designer from Toronto... and he takes a stand in favour of Kanata! I couldn't believe my eyes. My esteem for the guy just dropped by half.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords (Post 4178871)

Here's the article.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/fp/stadium+matters/1463102/story.html

By the sound of it, he would be AGAINST, if the Scotiabank Place wasn't there. The rest of the comments are that Landsdowne could be much more than a stadium. Can't disagree with that.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2009/04/06/9019046-sun.html

Quote:

Stadium showdown

City report on sports venues expected to reject both

By KENNETH JACKSON, SUN MEDIA

A much-anticipated city report on two rival proposals for a 20,000-seat open-air stadium is set to be released this afternoon and chances are both will be rejected.

College Coun. Rick Chiarelli said yesterday the $100 million taxpayers would be asked to shell out for either bid is just too hard to swallow.

Chiarelli believes some of his colleagues will ask for both unsolicited proposals to be trashed, but he thinks the "best-case scenario" is for both development teams to come up with a better offer.

Chiarelli said both teams presented their offers as if the benefits outweigh the costs.

"It was pretty obvious to us from the start that wasn't the case," he said. "I doubt they would ever lead with their final offer."

COMPLETE REDEVELOPMENT

One proposal, submitted by four local businessmen including Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt, calls for the renovation of Frank Clair Stadium for a CFL football franchise as part of a complete redevelopment of the deteriorating Lansdowne Park. The project, dubbed Lansdowne Live, is pegged at more than $90 million in taxpayer money.

The other, submitted by Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, calls for a soccer-specific stadium near Scotiabank Place in Kanata in the hopes of landing a Major League Soccer franchise. It would cost taxpayers more than $110 million.

The city would need federal and provincial funding to build either of the stadiums.

Mayor Larry O'Brien said at the end of the day something needs to be done with Lansdowne.

"Lansdowne needs fixing that is much is clear. That should be your (headline)," said O'Brien yesterday.

He said the home of the Ottawa 67's, trade shows, a farmers' market and the SuperEx draws a total of about 1.5 million visitors each year.

"It's still serving an important duty for the citizens," he said.

He said there's no clear winner and believes his experience as a businessman can really come into play now.

He wants the city to have all the facts to determine which proposal provides the most value and is most economically suited for the city.

Capital Coun. Clive Doucet believes neither proposal works for the city. He argued it's well-known Scotiabank Place is in the wrong place, so why make the same mistake twice by putting another stadium there. Lansdowne Park, on the other hand, should be treated as a heritage site, not a place for a plan that includes a hotel and shopping mall.

He compared both proposals as two similar bad pitches by suit salesmen who come to your door. One proposal might be better than the other but "do you really need a suit (and) do you really want the suit they're giving you?"

Hunt said today's unveiling of the report is a "milestone" event because it's the first time they'll find out where staff sits on the matter.

He believes his proposal is best because it has the biggest advantage in location and a Kanata stadium doesn't solve any issues with Lansdowne.

When asked what he thought staff might do, Hunt declined to speculate.

"It's really going to come to which proposal makes more sense, which location makes more sense," he said.

Melnyk's team was not available for comment.

Lansdowne Live has the backing of the CFL for a franchise on the condition it has a stadium. Melnyk doesn't have the same guarantee from MLS.

Chiarelli said today's meeting is not about which stadium to pick but about what to do with Lansdowne.

"We may or may not have a decision to make about a stadium," he said.

A final decision is expected by April 22.

[email protected]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey (Post 4179496)

This basing the stadium’s location of the fact that “Scotiabank Place is already there, so may as well...” is completely ludicrous. For starters, the Sens’ rink is already 13 years old, and by current North American arena standards talk of building a new one should start around 10 years from now.

Building on a mistake is no way to correct them and learn from them.

Aside from that argument, the other main point in favour of Kanata I can see is that Lansdowne is on a “small-bore” local road network. As former attendees of Rough Rider and Renegades games can attest (and debated ad nauseam), transport and traffic was never a big issue at Lansdowne when the CFL was there. Probably 90% of soccer stadiums in Europe (with seating capacities similar to Lansdowne) are located precisely in urban neighbourhoods just like the Glebe, as are the most desirable baseball stadiums in the U.S. like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.

I was a season ticket holder for Rough Riders and Renegades. I never had a problem getting to Lansdowne Park and I always looked forward to the walk before and after the game to where my car was parked. The best experience of all was for the last Grey Cup and the transit setup was excellent. It was fast and efficient.

On the other hand, going to Scotiabank Place is always a pain. I takes so long to get there and back, the traffic is almost always lousy, and for the privilege of getting trapped in one of those parking lots, you have to pay a large fee. I have tried all sorts of alternatives, whether OC Transpo or restaurant shuttles and the experience is no better.

So much for the "small bore local road network" that always worked better for me when compared to the disaster of trying to use the Queensway to Scotiabank Place.

The atmosphere around Lansdowne Park is also far better and it provides a great walking environment. Imagine a Grey Cup victory by the local team at Lansdowne Park versus a Stanley Cup victory at Scotiabank Place. That says it all.

Remember the Red Mile from 2007 and having to locate it half way across the city from where the games were actually taking place. It would have been nice to have those actually attending the games being able to participate in the Red Mile events following a team victory.

Maria Cook has a lot of great coverage on her blog

http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/designingottawa/default.aspx

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