Ottawa City Politicians - Suck It Huge!!!!

City is again "debating" the idea that a Stadium will be best for Lansdowne Park. They seem more concerned about the jacka$$es in the Glebe then the entire Ottawa Region. There was a Stadium there when the bought the house - then why all the crying!!!!

I have this sinking feeling that this again will end in Heartbreak for us Ottawa Football Fans. It is obvious that Jeff Hunt is involved with this because w/ the risk of demolishing Frank Clair/ Civic Centre that would put the 67's in jeopardy. They would never survive in Scotia Bank Place in Kanata.

Just burns me that they see the small picture of these whinners in Glebe - what about Civic Pride, having a World Class Stadium to host events (Rolling Stones, FIFA,) - that generated a lot of money for the city & local businesses.

I just hope those idiots make the right decision & get it done. The plans that the Hunt group intially proposed were awesome (Stadium, Shops, Parking, Condos, etc.)

I think the Ottawa Team will never see the light of day..cause of the Ottawa City Politicians

Boy, it's going to seem as though I post this stuff just for the sheer hell of disagreeing with people...This may turn out to be for the best.

The stadium got pretty good support from the public, but nothing else about the Hunt Group's idea really did. So even if they were willing to build the stadium entirely on their own coin, they would struggle to get approval for the other things from which they could make their money back; condos, the hotel... I don't think a single person spoke in favour of a large retail stole there, which was also part of their bid.

Right now, O'Brien's talking about whether the stadium is a better fit somewhere else. That somewhere else might just be in an area where the Hunt Group CAN build condos, hotels, stores, etc. It might actually be a better fit. Then the Glebe can turn Lansdowne Park into the nice little coma-inducing park that they'll no doubt avoid after a year because there are too many bugs.

I don't need the stadium to be at Lansdowne to enjoy football. But I do need a stadium somewhere. If it's somewhere other than Lansdowne, and it benefits the owners-to-be, I'll deal.

The funny thing is that Glebe is complaining about all this too. No one is happy about the delay to explore these other options but ultimately, someone will benefit.

Here's a bit of good news. It looks like some Ottawa politicians have realized that nothing will happen with Lansdowne park if they leave it up to this stupid design competition. Better to deal with the owners behind closed doors, get the CFL team all set ASAP.

Glebe group upset over stalled Lansdowne process

Jake Rupert , The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, June 02, 2008

[url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=9fcd6e9a-b269-446d-b96e-5b131d5b7007]http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/new ... 131d5b7007[/url]

[i]OTTAWA - Members of the Glebe Community Association are angry the "open and transparent" process the city was following to determine the future of Lansdowne Park is stalled while municipal officials deal directly and privately with three developers who won a conditional CFL franchise for the city.

Association president Bob Brocklebank said the city was doing the right thing by holding an international design competition that was heavy on public consultation and openness throughout the process, and that to stop it to hold private conversations with developers, is a "major step backwards" because it is exactly what residents of the city said they don't want.

Indeed, results of a city survey of citizens on what to do with the park show strong support for a publicly owned project, not connected to fixing up Frank Clair Stadium. The survey found redevelopment of the park should not be contingent on having a professional sports franchise, that fixing the crumbling stadium in exchange for development rights to the site is unacceptable; and that only a slight majority of participants favour retention of the stadium at all.

Despite this, two weeks ago, city officials put a halt to their redevelopment process to deal with the developers and their potential football team before the municipality decides how to proceed.

The conditional franchise was awarded to the group contingent on them having an appropriate stadium to play in. Frank Clair Stadium is crumbling and the city has no plans to fix it up.

In a memo to council on why the competition was stopped, the deputy city manager of planning, transit and the environment Nancy Schepers said the municipality needs to know several things from the group. These include whether they need only Frank Clair Stadium and the Civic Centre, or if they expect additional lands for development, parking or other uses, and whether they expect or require any form of financial contribution from the city.

Councillor Peter Hume said the questions have been put to this group, but it hasn't given answers yet.

This is the same group of developers that gave the city an unsolicited proposal for a 100-per-cent private redevelopment of Lansdowne Park last year while pledging to try to bring a football team back to Ottawa. Recently, members of the group have said they're it is not trying to win a preferential position to develop the park by bringing CFL football back to the city where it's failed twice in 15 years.

Mr. Brocklebank said his group is mad because the public has clearly said development at the park shouldn't linked to football.

"They believe public ownership and control of the entire site needs to be maintained," he said. "If these are the findings of the city-run public consultations, why is the city ignoring their wishes and going back to Plan A - back room discussions and decisions made with developers? This is not in the public's interest.

"We have one chance to do this right. It would be a shame if we blew it. We hope the City will open those doors once more so that the public is fully informed - and consulted - every single step of the way. It's the right thing to do."

Capital Councillor Clive Doucet said he has the same concerns as the association, and the situation prompted Mayor Larry O'Brien to question whether or not the city wants or needs a sports stadium on the prime real estate site at all.

He said he thinks the municipality should have a world-class sports facility, but that he's not sure anymore that it should be at Lansdowne Park.[/i]

Did Ottawa inherit some of the pot smoking left wing loonies from Vancouver? I feel sorry for you.

Yes with out a doubt they could survive in kanata.

The last place we need a stadium is way out in Kanata or anywhere else in the suburbs.
It has to be downtown - just rebuild the south side lower deck.

The trend in every major city in North America is to build a stadium downtown usually on the waterfront. The idea is to bring people downtown to the restaurants/entertainment.
Landsdowne Park was there long before the locals in that area and it belongs to all of the people in Ottawa.