Lansdowne 2.0 (Northside Stands/Arena Redevelopment) | U/C

[harls]

Originally Posted by phil235

Yeah, the horse is clearly dead. It will be interesting to see if the Charge get any kind of concessions from the city in their negotiations.

Best case scenario - they play in the new arena tail tucked between their legs and the fans hold them in some kind of contempt.

[rocketphish]

Lansdowne 2.0 construction to begin next week
1st phase involves removing berm to make way for new arena and event centre

CBC News
Posted: Nov 28, 2025 2:32 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Construction on the next phase of Lansdowne Park's redevelopment will begin next week, the City of Ottawa announced Friday.

City council approved the controversial $419-million project on Nov. 7. Lansdowne 2.0 includes a new arena and event centre, new north side stadium stands and a pair of condo towers.

The arena will be built first, and will involve removing the grassy hill at the east end of the stadium.

"Preliminary works will begin next week with the installation of fencing, followed by site trailer installation and exploratory works in December," wrote Tammy Rose, the city's general manager of infrastructure and water services, in a memo.

The city is promising to keep residents and businesses informed about the construction through its Engage Ottawa project page.

A drop-in information session for residents will take place at a later date, Rose said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lansdowne-2-0-construction-starts-december-9.6996575

[rocketphish]

Head of Glebe BIA ‘glad to be moving forward’ as construction starts on Lansdowne 2.0
OSEG CEO says project planned in ‘manageable chunks’ to avoid disruptions

Marissa Galko, OBJ
December 1, 2025

As construction begins on the Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment, the head of the local BIA said area businesses should be largely unaffected and could even benefit from an influx of construction workers. The first phase of the project will focus on the construction of the event centre, which will accommodate up to 7,000 people for concerts and 6,600 for hockey games.

In a memo Friday, Tammy Rose, the city’s general manager of infrastructure and water services, said the first phase of construction on the new event centre will include “berm removal and environmental remediation, site servicing, modifications to TD Place to maintain operations during redevelopment, phase one of underground loading dock construction, event centre construction, accessible drop-off infrastructure, new berm construction, and Great Lawn landscaping and wayfinding.”

Preliminary work, beginning this week, will include the installation of fencing and site trailer as well as “exploratory works.”

Darrell Cox, executive director of the Glebe BIA, told OBJ Monday that the BIA is working closely with the city and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group to mitigate disruptions.

“The one concern that the businesses have (is) just the amount of truck traffic (and) heavy equipment that’s going to be coming up and down Bank Street. But we just had a meeting with the city staff last week to talk about that, so there will be a plan in place,” Cox said, adding that he believes businesses in the Glebe will be largely unaffected by the construction. If businesses do have any questions or concerns, Cox said the BIA should be their first point of contact, but that the city has also put together a Lansdowne renewal team.

Overall, Cox said the area’s businesses are feeling good about the project and looking forward to the end product.

“We’re just glad to be moving forward (with the project). It’s been a long time coming. There’s going to be some concern about disruption, but we’re hearing from members (and) a fair number of members (are in) support of the project.” Cox said some businesses are even anticipating an increase in business due to an influx of construction workers.

“They’re looking to take advantage of the few hundred construction workers and tradespeople that are going to be on-site for this length of time, particularly with the fast-food restaurants in the area where they will have a few hundred more people every day, looking for a quick bite to eat.” In a conversation with OBJ last week, OSEG president and CEO Mark Goudie said that the project was planned to happen in “manageable chunks” to allow access to the rest of the Lansdowne site and minimize impact on surrounding businesses. “We’re a site that used to draw about 250,000 people a year before the redevelopment in 2014 and now we’re up to over four million visitors a year. It’s really important that all the good things that are happening at Lansdowne continue to happen at Lansdowne through this project. “In phase one, everything is contained over near the (new) event centre. That leaves the rest, (about) 80 per cent, of the site to function normally,” Goudie said. “(In) phase two, the construction and the staging will all happen in the footprint of the current (arena). While construction will happen in that area, the Great Lawn will have been put back better than (when construction) started (and) the event centre will be open.” He added that events will continue at Lansdowne and construction crews will work around event schedules, creating as little disruption as possible.

“The city has requirements in their contract with the general contractor as to site cleanliness on event days, what time they are able to operate, how the site needs to get cleaned up ahead of (events) and the city’s been working on paths for vehicles as well,” Goudie said.

As the first part of construction gets underway, there are currently no road closures or detours planned, according to the Engage Ottawa website.

The City of Ottawa stated in the memo Friday that it is “committed to keeping residents and businesses informed throughout the construction of Lansdowne 2.0. A construction communications campaign will commence in conjunction with the start of construction, including additional information and opportunities for the public to learn more about the project.” The city is encouraging residents and businesses to sign up for its Lansdowne 2.0 newsletter to get regular updates on the project, and is planning ​​a drop-in public information session. On Nov. 7, city council approved the Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment plan, which includes the construction of a new event centre, the demolition of the current TD Place Arena, the redevelopment of the north side stands at TD Place Stadium and the construction of two residential towers with a retail bay. The event centre construction is set to wrap up by the fall of 2028, according to the city’s timeline. The construction on the new north side stands will begin in the fourth quarter of 2028 and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2030. The last part of the project, the construction of the two residential towers, is set to start in 2031 and be complete in 2034.

https://obj.ca/head-glebe-bia-glad-moving-fwd-lansdowne-2-0/

[J.OT13]

We lost the opportunity to host a big soccer game against an MLS team that could have created good exposure for the City because of 2.0. I thought the whole point of the phasing was to minimize disruptions.

Lansdowne 2.0 forcing Atlético Ottawa to play 'home' game in Hamilton

Fans are preparing for a February trip to The Hammer to see the Canadian Premier League champs take on Nashville FC in a CONCACAF game.

Michael McBean, Ottawa Citizen
Published Dec 23, 2025

Atlético Ottawa superfans Bryce Crossman and Jon Hopkins are preparing to travel to a February ‘home’ game that will take them nearly 500 kilometres away — to Hamilton — to watch their favourite team face Nashville SC.

Atlético Ottawa qualified for the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup after its viral, snow-covered Canadian Premier League final victory in November. But ongoing construction work on Lansdowne 2.0 means the club can’t host the game at TD Place.

“There’s definitely a level of disappointment,” said Hopkins. “But it wasn’t necessarily unexpected disappointment, because we knew going in the condition Lansdowne was going to be in once Lansdowne 2.0 got approved.”

Some fans took to social media expressing their frustration with the location of the game.

“We understand the frustration from the fans,” said Alex Mejia, the club’s chief of operations and compliance officer. “However, there are things that we don’t control, of course, like the construction happening at Lansdowne.”

Despite the scheduling challenge, Mejia said his team is fully supportive of Lansdowne 2.0, and he’s excited about the opportunity it presents. “We’ll have newer facilities, better accessibility and, overall, we’re just continuing to raise the fan experience.”

Mejia said the club looked at several stadiums closer to Ottawa, but ruled them out because CONCACAF requires hosts to meet certain standards, including adequate suite and club seating, broadcast facilities, locker rooms and parking.

He also pointed out that Montreal’s Olympic Stadium is undergoing renovations and Toronto’s BMO Field is being upgraded as it prepares to host World Cup action in 2026.

“Hamilton was the closest stadium we could use, and we had a positive track record of organizing trips to watch Atlético Ottawa play there,” said Mejia.

Crossman and Hopkins said they have made the trip to Hamilton before to cheer on the capital city and they are optimistic many fans from Ottawa will be making the trip.

“We have so many fans that understand the importance of this game, and we don’t know the next time we’ll be playing against an MLS team,” Crossman said. “I’m sure we have at least a few hundred that are contemplating making the drive down and seeing that game in person.”

Crossman and Hopkins help lead the Capital City Supporters Group, a fan club for Atlético Ottawa. The group was originally founded in 2020, in line with the return of professional soccer to the city.

Since then, they’ve watched the team grow and recently got to witness the iconic “icicle kick” Canadian Premier League finals goal, which garnered over one billion views on social media, according to the league.

“The final was really special,” Hopkins said. “It was a moment I’ll never forget.”

The championship game drew more than 13,000 fans at TD Place and Mejia said he’s confident the club can continue building on that momentum into next year despite the location of this game.

He said the club is planning on organizing buses for fans willing to travel to Hamilton for the match.

Mejia said Atlético Ottawa will also be hosting a watch party at Glebe Central Pub for those who aren’t able to make the trip.

For next year, Mejia said construction affecting the field is scheduled to be completed before April, ahead of when the Canadian Premier League season gets underway. This means Atlético Ottawa will be able to use TD Place for their 2026 season.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/lansdowne-2-0-atletico-ottawa-hamilton

[phil235]

There were 7900 fans at the Charge game last night. Pretty consistent with the average for weekend games, which seems to be just above 8000. Attendance is holding pretty steady this year.

[ponyboycurtis]

Originally Posted by phil235

There were 7900 fans at the Charge game last night. Pretty consistent with the average for weekend games, which seems to be just above 8000. Attendance is holding pretty steady this year.

Also worth noting that our average attendance between the 2 venues at the World Juniors last year was around 10,200. Looking back at the game sheets from 2009 I saw that the Latvia/Sweden game I attended was in the high 9000s if you can believe that.

Annnnddd... I just gotta point out that Minnesota this year as a host was only a little over 6k average attendance. I watched a lot of games and boy it was empty.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

Also worth noting that our average attendance between the 2 venues at the World Juniors last year was around 10,200. Looking back at the game sheets from 2009 I saw that the Latvia/Sweden game I attended was in the high 9000s if you can believe that.

Annnnddd... I just gotta point out that Minnesota this year as a host was only a little over 6k average attendance. I watched a lot of games and boy it was empty.

I don't think using a combined average is a fair comparison. Marquee games will always be at the big rink (Kanata or Lebreton....someday). TD Place averaged just under 4100 for their games during the tournament (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_World_Junior_Ice_Hockey_Championships).

The Charge are doing great and if they start attracting 11-12k then serious consideration to move them to the big arena should be considered. For now, though, it's still a new league and a bit of a novelty in Ottawa. Not a reason to increase the capacity of our new Lansdowne rink.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

Also worth noting that our average attendance between the 2 venues at the World Juniors last year was around 10,200. Looking back at the game sheets from 2009 I saw that the Latvia/Sweden game I attended was in the high 9000s if you can believe that.

Annnnddd... I just gotta point out that Minnesota this year as a host was only a little over 6k average attendance. I watched a lot of games and boy it was empty.

It was actually pretty surprising to me how few Canadians travelled to that. There would normally be that many Canadians if the games were on Prague, let alone that close to Canada. If this was last year, the organizers would have had Canada playing in the NHL rink, not the half empty college rink.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by phil235

There were 7900 fans at the Charge game last night. Pretty consistent with the average for weekend games, which seems to be just above 8000. Attendance is holding pretty steady this year.

Playing devil's advocate, the drama surrounding Lansdowne 2.0 might have provided them a lot of exposure and good will.

Originally Posted by Djeffery

It was actually pretty surprising to me how few Canadians travelled to that. There would normally be that many Canadians if the games were on Prague, let alone that close to Canada. If this was last year, the organizers would have had Canada playing in the NHL rink, not the half empty college rink.

As you alluded to in your last sentence, the low Canadian turnout is caused by the Trump administrations' threats to Canada (and the rest of the democratic World) and hostility towards... anyone who isn't a white American kissing his... ring.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Playing devil's advocate, the drama surrounding Lansdowne 2.0 might have provided them a lot of exposure and good will.

Hadn't really thought of that angle. No publicity is bad publicity I suppose.

Interested to see where attendance is in a couple of years. If it has increased by 3- 4k , then they would be looking at the CTC, but I worry about a move to Kanata. I think that could really kill their attendance if they end up being there for a couple of years. My guess is that they settle in around 7000 and stick it out at Lansdowne. Still a ways to go though.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by phil235

Hadn't really thought of that angle. No publicity is bad publicity I suppose.

Interested to see where attendance is in a couple of years. If it has increased by 3- 4k , then they would be looking at the CTC, but I worry about a move to Kanata. My guess is that they settle in around 7000. Still a ways to go though.

Yeah, in two or three years, they can figure out if the new arena at 2.0 is good enough or if they need to move to a bigger venue. I agree, the Palladium would probably be a bad idea (though the Black Bears seem to be doing well with attendance capped at 7k fans).

There was a letter to the editor in the Citizen the other day, "come to beautiful Kanata", referencing the Charge, all about how accessible it is, and how LeBreton will not be accessible and disastrous. People are delusional. Even if you live within 1 km, you can't really bike or walk, so you drive and get stuck in the same traffic as everyone else. It's like people don't realize how many more people live near LeBreton, and how LeBreton is far more accessible than Kanata for most citizens of the NCR.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Yeah, in two or three years, they can figure out if the new arena at 2.0 is good enough or if they need to move to a bigger venue. I agree, the Palladium would probably be a bad idea (though the Black Bears seem to be doing well with attendance capped at 7k fans).

There was a letter to the editor in the Citizen the other day, "come to beautiful Kanata", referencing the Charge, all about how accessible it is, and how LeBreton will not be accessible and disastrous. People are delusional. Even if you live within 1 km, you can't really bike or walk, so you drive and get stuck in the same traffic as everyone else. It's like people don't realize how many more people live near LeBreton, and how LeBreton is far more accessible than Kanata for most citizens of the NCR.

Yeah, that Kanata line is a version of the "put stuff where people live" line that is used to support putting amenities outside of the greenbelt. As if there aren't more people inside the greenbelt, and as if putting something in Kanata makes it accessible to everyone who lives in Orleans and Findlay Creek and other non-Kanata places outside the greenbelt. Not to mention the complete lack of transit accessibility for those who don't want to drive. I think those people are just bad at geography, as how else could you argue that being central isn't closer to the most people possible.

I will say that for smaller events, the massive infrastructure at the CTC/Palladium is remarkably efficient (for drivers). Even a poorly attended Sens game results in a huge difference in the time it takes to get in/out of the parking. Still terrible if you are coming from central Ottawa or points east, but the time in the parking lot is much less.

I didn't realize that the Black Bears are doing well. I'm not a lacrosse person, but I did see a couple of games on TV and the crowds looked a bit sparse. Maybe just spread out. Either way, the long-term sustainability is the big question. For the 67s, who had a very established fan base, the move to Kanata was nothing short of disastrous. Despite all of the families who apparently live out there, they did not come out in any numbers at all, and attendance cratered. Probably partly due to the location, and also the poor ambiance with 3000 people in an NHL arena.

I think that the Charge have a following, but it is likely closer to the 67s crowd in terms of composition. You see lots of people walking to the games, and a big portion of the crowd goes to the bars and restaurants in the vicinity before the game. Whether those people would be willing to move with the team to Kanata is an open question. My guess is that they lose some of their base in Kanata, though they may be able to make up a portion of the loss with special event games taking up a part of that extra capacity. It was notable that for the game the Charge played in Kanata, despite the novelty, they did not come close to filling the rink.

[J.OT13]

Seems the Black Bears only ever had one game below 4k, and that was last Friday. Average seems to be around 5.4k based on last year, which is in the ballpark for 7/15 other teams. 2/15 are in the 6k, 3/15 9k, 1/15 12k and then Buffalo blows everyone out of the water with an 18.4k average.

So we are in the lower tier, with league average of 7.8k (greatly skewed by Buffalo), but we're among half the teams in that lower tier.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NLL/comments/1k3pa96/final_attendance_for_2025_season/#lightbox

[ponyboycurtis]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Seems the Black Bears only ever had one game below 4k, and that was last Friday. Average seems to be around 5.4k based on last year, which is in the ballpark for 7/15 other teams. 2/15 are in the 6k, 3/15 9k, 1/15 12k and then Buffalo blows everyone out of the water with an 18.4k average.

So we are in the lower tier, with league average of 7.8k (greatly skewed by Buffalo), but we're among half the teams in that lower tier.


https://www.reddit.com/r/NLL/comments/1k3pa96/final_attendance_for_2025_season/#lightbox

The Sabres have been so stinkin' bad for so long it makes sense. Now the Sabres have somehow won 12/13 games. Curious to see how that will play if the Sabres stay on their run and make the playoffs.

Originally Posted by Djeffery

It was actually pretty surprising to me how few Canadians travelled to that. There would normally be that many Canadians if the games were on Prague, let alone that close to Canada. If this was last year, the organizers would have had Canada playing in the NHL rink, not the half empty college rink.

I was trying to skirt around that political issue. Is it weird I was taking sick pleasure in seeing all those empty seats in each game that I watched?

[phil235]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

I was trying to skirt around that political issue. Is it weird I was taking sick pleasure in seeing all those empty seats in each game that I watched?

Nope, I was heartened by the fact that so many Canadians are sending a message by staying home. It's having a real impact in cases like the World Juniors, which is no small feat.

[J.OT13]

You know Menard's motion to direct staff to collaborate with the Moving Surfaces artist to restore and reinstate the art piece that was passed by Council. Yeah, don't think that's happening:

David Reevely
‪@davidreevely.bsky.social‬

Respectfully decommissioned.

https://bsky.app/profile/davidreevely.bsky.social/post/3mcf52t7j4c2o

[J.OT13]

$4 million dollars, flushed down the drain!! Is that "respecting the taxpayer" Sutcliffe!!!!!

Of the entire Lansdowne 2.0 mess, and the gas lighting, and the magic math, I think this is the single thing that pissed me off the most.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

You know Menard's motion to direct staff to collaborate with the Moving Surfaces artist to restore and reinstate the art piece that was passed by Council. Yeah, don't think that's happening:

Isn't the reinstatement of the art piece supposed to happen post construction of the arena? Not sure how you would put it back in place until the arena is done, but maybe I misunderstood.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by phil235

Isn't the reinstatement of the art piece supposed to happen post construction of the arena? Not sure how you would put it back in place until the arena is done, but maybe I misunderstood.

That was the plan up until the last few weeks before the final vote. The City determined it would be too expensive to fix the LED lighting after consulting some random company (and not the artist), so they were going to "respectfully decommission" it.

When the artist heard about this, she came to speak to Committee and said she wanted to have a conversation with the City about how they could best do it for a reasonable price. Council passed a motion directing City staff to have those conversations with the artist.

Based on this image though, it sure looks like they didn't dismantle it and put in in storage, but sent the demo crew to scrap it.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Based on this image though, it sure looks like they didn't dismantle it and put in in storage, but sent the demo crew to scrap it.

Ah, hadn't noticed the sculpture in that picture. Hope they do manage to save it, though it looks like that truck very well might have driven over it.