If you’ve been living under a rock, you might not have heard about Lansdowne 2.0. For everyone else, you know this is a mega project that will finally complete the development of a major piece of city-owned land that has been in transition since 2007.
At the time, that land was nothing more than a football stadium, with a hockey rink beneath it, and historic buildings – the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Horticulture Building – surrounded by a sea of concrete parking lots.
By 2014, Lansdowne had taken its current form, with new south side stands, abundant green space and dozens of restaurants, shops and entertainment venues. But it was never actually completed, as the stadium’s North Side Stand and the old hockey rink beneath it were never properly attended to.
This coming October, Ottawa City Council is expected to put its final stamp of approval on Lansdowne 2.0, speeding the project toward the finish line.
“This opens the door for us to begin work on the new event center by the end of 2025. This will be a two-year project, with completion expected by the end of 2027,” said Mark Gowdy, president and CEO of Event Management. Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG).
In any given year, Lansdowne hosts more than 180 events, most of which take place inside the grounds, and attracts more than four million visitors. Although major construction at the site will continue for years, OSEG wants to limit disruptions to those things.
“It is extremely important that, as much as possible, operations continue as normal during construction and that all our teams, our tenants’ teams, continue the concerts and other events we organize,” Gaudí said.
“That’s why the current arena will remain in place for the next two years and by the end of 2027, everything that currently happens there will be transferred to the new event centre. Until that time, it will be home to the ’67s (Ottawa’s OHL team), the Charge (Ottawa’s PWHL team), the Blackjacks (Ottawa’s professional CEBL basketball) and all other concerts, shows and events.
Once finished, the new event center will have a capacity of 6,500 fans, which Goudie believes is the sweet spot for the Ottawa community.
“Right now, if you want to have an event for up to 2,000 people in the city, you are probably going to use the NAC (National Arts Centre). The new event center will be available for Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,500. For 6,500 to 18,000, you have CTC (Canadian Tire Centre) and for more than 18,000, you have TD Place Stadium. It will all fit together beautifully.
One thing fans will notice is that the event center will be located in the east end zone of TD Place. This has provided some unique design opportunities to enhance the atmosphere of RedBlack GameDays. There will be suites that overlook the field and bars in the upper part of the event center, which lead to a balcony that hangs over the east end zone. There will also be bunker suites at field level to provide fans another perspective.
“Something we definitely wanted to maintain is the ability to walk between the north and south stadium stands and keep people as close to the action as they want. We do not sell standing tickets, but a section of our fans like to wander along the walkways that run from north to south in both end zones. It has become Canada’s longest bar rail,” Goudy said. “The bridge and that concept will remain in place but will be wider with better views so we can better serve standers who want to avoid seats.”
Although it will be business as usual for the Redblacks for the next three seasons until the Event Center takes shape, as the 2027 season ends, North Side will stand by as generations of fans who knew them will leave.
And yes, for now that means the roof will be gone. Some fans will be disappointed and discouraged by that decision. In addition to losing protection from the elements, some are also concerned about the potential impact on the playing environment without the roof bouncing sound back towards field level. Gowdy understands their concerns.
“I understand,” he said. “I grew up as a Northsider because my father wanted to sit under the roof, although I have now deeply removed the phrase ‘South Side sucks’ from my repertoire.”
It should be noted that the original city proposal had a rooftop option as part of Lansdowne 2.0 but it was not approved due to the overall budget.
“I hope the city will continue to consider the North Stadium roof as an option and hope it will be discussed again at council later this year. My hope is that even if it doesn’t, it will be included in the next phase for Lansdowne.” Although not included in the U.S., there may still be an opportunity to add it further,” Gowdy said.
“I also think there’s a little bit of a recency bias because we’ve had a few years where you could get your rain forecast by checking if it was a Redblacks home gameday. But the football gods started coming through last season. were, so hopefully the weather gods will come along and do the same. I’m really hoping that people in Ottawa – die-hard football fans and those who come to Redblacks games because it’s an event – will see it in our game and our fan base I loved the experience of going to Buffalo last year and the people were there to have a good time. Love their team and that’s a place where there’s no ceiling, and they’re proud to tell you that.
While the new North Side Stand will not have any distinctive features such as the wooden veil that wraps around the South Side, Gaudí has promised that it will still have a signature element.
“We are going to create a grand gateway that connects Lansdowne with shops and restaurants along Exhibition Road to the stadium. This will be a large special staircase that passes through the retail buildings and goes between two residential buildings and the ground at the main intersection of the North Side Stand.
Upon completion, the new North Side stadiums will have a capacity of approximately 11,200, slightly less than the current one. This difference will be compensated by the seats available in the Event Centre, which overlooks the grounds. When it’s all said and done TD Place’s total capacity will still be about 24,000.
During the two-year period of construction of the new stand – the 2028 and 2029 seasons – the Redblacks will be forced to play games at a reduced capacityAlthough the exact number has not yet been determined, Gowdy mentioned that OSEG will be thinking outside the box to make it as high as possible.
“I can say that we will definitely not play home matches in other cities. R-Nation needs us in Ottawa and Lansdowne. We’ll use the South Side normally and then we’ll get creative. This likely means temporary bleachers in the west end zone as we did during the 2017 Gray Cup and we will have some new capacity attached to the field in the east end zone. As construction plans come together, we will also see if it is possible to put some limited sideline seats on the north side. We will definitely do our best to ensure that as many fans as possible can still watch the Redblacks play.”
When Goudy was asked what excites him most about Lansdowne 2.0, he was quick to say that as an Ottawa native, he has spent most of his life attending events in Lansdowne.
“I grew up here. My uncle was Howard Darwin (former owner of the 67s) so I went to a lot of hockey games here. I attended my first concert in Lansdowne. Every summer I came to the exhibition and, of course, watched a lot of football games. As someone who grew up in Lansdowne and spends a lot of time here, I know what makes it special and I know what can be improved upon,” he said.
“For me, the really cool thing about the site is that it now once again plays a role as a gathering place for Ottawa and a hub for sports and entertainment in our region. You may come here for an event, but you also have plenty of options for entertainment before and after your concert or game, as we saw at this year’s World Junior Hockey Championships. Lansdowne has a vital role in the economic development of our city and Lansdowne 2.0 is a great opportunity for the city to completely redevelop the site in a way that makes it relevant for the next 50 years.
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