Ottawa 67’s owner Jeff Hunt hopes to host outdoor hockey game at Lansdowne.
With a friendlier council to be sworn in at city hall in December, members of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group that wants to redevelop Lansdowne Park can now start moving forward with plans for future sporting events at the newly renovated stadium.
Jeff Hunt, owner of the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s and one of the members of OSEG, says he’d like to start planning for events such as the Grey Cup and a possible outdoor hockey game featuring the 67’s if the planned renovations are complete by 2013.
“Council is more pro-Lansdowne than it ever was, so I don’t see issues at council regarding this matter,” says Hunt.“But that said, we still have many things to overcome and we’re working our way through that.”
A newly renovated Lansdowne Park is expected to be a major part of future sporting events in the city.
Given the lack of other viable stadiums in the city, an outdoor hockey game would have to be held at Lansdowne.
If the results of the Oct. 25 election are any indication, Hunt and the rest of the partnership involved with the redevelopment should get less friction at city hall in seeing the plan through.
Seven of the nine councillors who voted against the proposal in late June either lost their re-election bids or decided to retire. Diane Deans and Diane Holmes are the only two remaining councilors who originally opposed the plan.
In a survey sent out by a local newspaper prior to the election, eight of the 10 newly elected councilors indicated they will or would have supported the plan.
Capital Ward councilor-elect David Chernushenko, who represents the area where Lansdowne is located, says he will work to convince his colleagues to reverse the redevelopment, but admits it will be tough.
“I’m going to focus on what seems to resonate most with councilors who don’t actually live in the ward and won’t have to live with buildings that are too high and existing traffic jams made worse,” he says.
Those intent on bringing major sporting events to Ottawa also have a friend in mayor-elect Jim Watson. He made hosting renowned sporting events, such as the Grey Cup or the NHL’s annual outdoor hockey game, the Winter Classic, a major part of his tourism platform while on the campaign trail.
But even with the support of council, at least one part of Watson’s ambitious tourism platform has little chance of becoming a reality.
Bringing the Winter Classic to town is not a viable option, according to Ottawa Senators management.
“You need a minimum size just to be able to play in that event,” says Senators president Cyril Leeder.
“Unless the plans for Lansdowne change, I don’t think that’ll ever be a realistic opportunity.”
Leeder says Lansdowne is the only realistic venue for the game in Ottawa, but the 24,000-person
capacity expected after the renovations would be too small.
Leeder and Hunt both say they haven’t discussed the possibility of holding the event with Watson, who declined comment for this story.
But that won’t stop Hunt from holding an outdoor game at Lansdowne. He said he’d be interested in hosting a game for the 67’s outdoors, the first of its kind for an OHL team, at the newly renovated stadium.
The Lansdowne redevelopment plan is the result of a sole-sourced, private bid launched by Hunt and other OSEG partners in October 2008 to refurbish the stadium and hockey arena.
The plan will also see shops, offices and residences constructed on the site.