By Hayley Conole
The Grey Cup is expected to bring in thousands of visitors to the city this month, promising a bumper week for local retailers and restaurateurs.
But there are others, including the Ottawa Renegades and the Ottawa City Council, who will not be so fortunate.
The Ottawa Renegades will contribute between $2 and $3 million to get the stadium ready for the big game. This figure includes the cost of increasing the stadium’s capacity to almost 52,000, but not the undisclosed amount the Renegades must pay to the CFL to host the event.
According to Arash Madani, the team’s director of media relations, any ticket sales revenue from the event must pay for the guarantee and the cost of maintenance to the stadium before the club sees any profit.
However, Madani says it will benefit the city’s residents.
“The economic spin off, the revenues from bars and restaurants will be close to $50 million,” he says.
Capital Ward Coun. Clive Doucet admits the Grey Cup gives a lot of exposure to the city and people will spend money in Ottawa, benefiting many businesses but none of that money will filter down to the city.
“It all goes to the federal and provincial government in GST,” says Doucet.
With attendance at this year’s Grey Cup expected to surpass 50,000, extra police, bus routes and emergency crews will have to be on hand to keep the event running smoothly, and it is the city that will foot the bill.
“Extra transit, extra police and extra ambulances cost the corporation of the city a substantial amount,” says Doucet.
The city does not receive any extra money from the province or the federal government for events like this; all the money comes from property taxes and the current municipal budget.
Although he cannot calculate the exact cost of the Grey Cup to the municipality, Doucet suggests it would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“We have police working overtime doing traffic work up and down Bank Street and crowd control,” says Doucet.
The city expects to put 600 buses on the road to serve as shuttle buses for people going to the game. According to Doucet, the city pays for that 100 per cent.
“I just hope that people, when they complain about things like the Concert Hall, they remember the Grey Cup,” he says.
A hundred and fifty additional police officers will be in the area around Lansdowne Park to cope with a surplus of almost 18,000 people on game day.
Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Richard Lavigne, of the public safety division, says a total of 530 extra officers will be on duty throughout the week.
“No one will be allowed to take any time off and we have changed officers’ days off so that they can work straight through from Wednesday to Sunday,” he says.
Lavigne says the police expect to deal with the excessive drinking and rowdiness usually associated with this type of event, but they will be treating it like any other party.
Traffic control will also be a major police concern.
Lavigne adds that there will be no parking on the grounds at Lansdowne Park, so Renegades season ticket holders with a parking pass will need to consider other options. Patrons who use handicapped parking at Lansdowne will also be shut out.
A number of streets in the Glebe area will also be off-limits to fans looking for a parking spot. Several streets, including Bank Street between Sunnyside and Fifth Avenue, will be closed to traffic completely.
Lavigne encourages people to use public transport and there will be direct bus routes available to get fans to and from the big game, including a service from City Hall to Lansdowne Park running every day during Grey Cup week.