Top 7 Concerns with Lansdowne 2.0 for the City of Ottawa—New Information
The city released a plethora of Lansdowne 2.0 update reports less than a week ago on October 20, 2025. In those documents, new information and concerns have arisen. The renewed financial arrangements underpinning the Lansdowne Public-Private Partnership (The Lansdowne Partnership Plan – LPP) between the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (Roger Greenberg, Principal of Lansgreen investments, and John Ruddy, Principal of Trinity Sports and Entertainment Partnership), were also released.
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Lansdowne 2.0 means $17.4 million in new budget spending, per year, for Taxpayers not $4.3 million
In a startling discovery, it appears that the city is planning to add $17.4 million/year into its base operating budget for Lansdowne 2.0 all the way to 2070 and create a slush fund for other city expenditures. This would mean that $17.4 million would displace already existing city services in the operating budget every year and would put pressure on increased taxes. The money would be used to pay off $331 million of new debt for the Lansdowne 2.0 project (and an additional $9.2 million in new debt for parking for Lansdowne 2.0 adds another $480,000 a year in annual debt repayments). Taxpayers are on the hook for the full cost, with the hope that non-guaranteed revenue will help offset those costs over the next 50 years. If new revenue does come in, the $17.4 will not be reduced, it will remain in Ottawa’s budget until 2070 when the debt is finally expected to be paid off. Any revenue collected from the so-called waterfall profits, property taxes from the new buildings, ticket surcharges, municipal accommodation tax, etc. could be used for any other city expenditures. The total debt repayment for Lansdowne 2.0 over 40 years is $17.4M (project) + $0.48M (parking)/ year = $715,200,000.
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Sports Teams Only Guaranteed for 7 More years
New LPP agreements show the REDBLACKS and Ottawa 67’s would only be guaranteed until the year 2032. That is just 7 years away. The city could see both teams sold or not operating after that year. This is significant as all of the financial modelling included the operation of the teams for decades to come. The agreements spell this out in several sections, under ‘Events of Default’, ‘Limits on Dispositions’ and ‘Provisions Applicable to Certain Components’, where it states “The RedBlacks and Ottawa 67’s must operate until December 31, 2032, unless the CFL and OHL cease to operate during that period”.
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Ottawa Charge and PWHL Say Lansdowne 2.0 is “not viable for us”
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) have called the Lansdowne 2.0 plans “not viable for us” and could leave the city as a result of the functionally obsolete Lansdowne 2.0 plans. Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice president of business operations, told CBC News Friday Oct 24th the reduced capacity is a “tough pill to swallow.” “It puts our league and our team in a position to really not thrive,” she said. “It's a huge step back in terms of having an opportunity for our fans to see our team play. You know, 3,000 less fans a game is a significant hit … it's not a financial model that makes any kind of sense.” The city and OSEG are also employing a strategy to increase ticket prices both through ticket surcharges and through expensive box seats in gated access only areas. Many fans will be priced out of attending these events as a result. The existing Civic Centre arena at Lansdowne Park has the capacity to accommodate and grow the fan base of the Charge. It should be kept in place, and properly maintained at much less cost until such a time that a more viable plan for Lansdowne Park can be supported by the public.
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50 Year Deal to 2075 – Back-End Loaded and Locked-In
The deal is being extended 50 years from now to 2075. Long-term P3 deals have been heavily criticized by the Ontario Auditor General and after Ottawa’s P3 Light Rail disaster. In 2022, the Ottawa Light Rail Transit (LRT) inquiry documented this, noting “the P3 model caused or contributed to several of the ongoing difficulties on the project.” The city is now mired in expensive never-ending legal battles thanks to the signing of the long-term P3. The Ontario Auditor General has found long-term public-private partnership (P3) deals to be costly and problematic, citing evidence that they often cost more than public alternatives and that risk transfer is overstated. In the case of Lansdowne Park, the new LPP would make it more difficult for the city to get out of the deal. It locks us in with partners who may only wish to continue with the retail/stadium deal and sell the teams off. Should the city wish to terminate for convenience the terms are much worse under Lansdowne 2.0 making it almost impossible to do so as it would entail paying out funds projected to be owed to 2075 and all equity. This was not the case in Lansdowne 1.0 and the city would be protected from owing any of OSEG’s losses or equity. The majority of funding in this long-term deal doesn’t start to flow until the year 2052 and beyond.
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Council-Directed Affordable Housing Funds Being Siphoned off to Lansdowne 2.0
During the last City Council discussion on Lansdowne 2.0, the following motion was passed:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT any additional revenues through the formal Request for Offer process for the disposal of the subterranean and property air rights that are above and beyond the original estimated value of $39 million be split as per the Affordable Housing Land & Funding Policy (50 per cent to the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund and 50 per cent towards the project)
The 2025 staff report indicates that affordable housing will be funded as follows: “Residential Air Rights revenues are $65 million versus the estimated $39 million, allowing a contribution to the Affordable Housing Reserve to be $14.4 million, versus the estimated $9.75 million.”
The math doesn’t add up based on the motion that was passed. $9.75 million was based on $39 million. With an additional $26 million (to get to $65 million), the affordable housing contribution should increase by $13 million, for a total of $22.75 million.
Staff say that instead of affordable housing, those funds will be directed towards parking and construction. “$6.7 million of air rights proceeds will be allocated to offset the additional costs attributable to the preferred bidder’s design which requires integrating the North Side Stands with the mixed-use development, and $10 million will be allocated to the additional 140 parking spaces the city will be constructing to lease to the residential towers, as described in a later section.”
What makes this even more problematic is that during the 2023 discussions on Lansdowne 2.0, a staff report indicated that council should not follow its own policy on affordable housing during land sales, so Council responded with the motion above.
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More Parking and City Subsidizing Private Tower Parking
There could be many more cars in and out of Lansdowne’s public area. Not only have staff and OSEG shifted their thinking in the latest report to oppose further pedestrianization of Aberdeen Square (citing tenant leases and the need to drive up, an issue that can and should be resolved), but the city is adding 180 new parking spots for the event centre in a stacked parking model. Previous versions had 35 spots. The city is also continuing on a path to publicly fund 140 new parking spaces to be solely leased by the new private residential tower owners, using new city debt of $9.2 million and $10 million of air rights money (some of which should have been going to affordable housing instead) to pay for it. The city is creating the 140 parking spaces for the for the towers by moving the existing arena/event centre into city park space and the Great Lawn.
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Throw-away Costs
The Lansdowne 2.0 plan has been devised mostly to ensure the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group is financially sustainable moving forward. In doing so the city is sacrificing both public support for the plan and is adding up a tremendous amount of throwaway costs. 58,000 square feet of greenspace, a popular toboggan hill, award winning artist Jill Anholt’s Moving Surfaces artwork depicted in all the renderings leading up to a week ago, and 113 healthy trees will all be removed at a cost of $8 million.
Other throwaway costs for Lansdowne 2.0 include tearing out new retail built in 2014 worth $12 million, tearing out the Civic Centre and North Side Stands valued at over $100 million, $10 million in lease disruption costs paid to OSEG from tearing out the arena and stands, $23 million in stranded debt from repairing the arena roof, in addition to the $8 million to remove the greenspace and Ms. Anholt’s artwork.
The Plan for Lansdowne 2.0 is unpopular and when residents find out what the city is planning, they oppose the deal. That polling will be released this week. All councillors should be asking whether their residents support the plans or not in their newsletters.