City exploring renewal options for Lansdowne’s Civic Centre and north side stands

It’s going to take 10 more years and $32.181 million to repair and replace Lansdowne’s Civic Centre complex and North Stadium Structure — $7 million of which will be spent in the next five years alone (or 1.4 million per year).

On Tuesday, the finance and economic development committee will hear an update on the city’s partnership with OSEG to renew some of the remaining old infrastructure as the city works to come out the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And what one of two new reports commissioned by OSEG by Leibe Engineering Associates found was that in their current state, the Ottawa Civic Centre and north side stands would need a “seismic upgrade” as the existing structure and foundations of Ottawa Civic Centre and north stands are not structurally adequate to allow for a redevelopment for the structures with a life expectancy of 50 years

The ideal plan

However, the city says it would prefer pursuing a replacement option for both structures.

This would require OSEG to prepare a formal proposal, and the city to seek community input, with both parties commencing preliminary negotiations.

“It is the only option that is likely to provide the [city and OSEG] partnership with the increased foot traffic needed to financially sustain the Agreement as intended until 2054,” the city’s report says.

The partnership

According to the report, the city and OSEG conducted an annual review of the planned renewal forecast projects and refined the work plan to reflect current needs.

Considerations include operation and maintenance, review of conduction and coordination of projects.

The collaborative effort prioritizes work each year, advancing some projects and deferring others with an aim of preserving the financial plans and the facility operation.

Back in December, city council directed staff to explore the options available to make the Lansdowne Park Partnership (LLP) sustainable.

Council wanted to get an idea of how the city and OSEG could address the aging infrastructure, enhance animation, improve public amenities and explore the site’s residential density.

The north side stands and Civic Centre area were both built in 1967, and although the facility is structurally sound (as determined in several inspections), Tuesday’s report from the city states that the first seven years of operation have shown that this is already an old facility approaching “functional obsolescence.”

Even if maintained at its current state, the city says the structures would continue to fall further behind what guest expectations are in the competitive marketplace.

The Issues

Some of the issues outlined in the report include washrooms that are so antiquated that 50 port-a-potties are brought into the north stadium stands on REDBLACKS game days, a leaky arena ceiling (risking event cancellations), game delays and unsafe ice conditions, as well as persistent mold outbreaks.

The concourse and roof are also not insulated — this results in excessive heat loss in the winter and a “cold” arena with high operating costs.

Its outdated functional spaces are also making the site uncompetitive when attracting events.

“For example, the arena was not compliant with current standards to attract recent tourism-friendly events such as the Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup as the arena no longer meets specification requirements,” the report outlines.

OSEG advises that TD Place will continue to decline as a spot for competitive sports, tourism and touring events and concerts if the structures cannot meet specification requirements. 

In addition, load restrictions make it impossible to host multiple events in the stadium and arena; small and inadequate dress room space, suites in the arena are inaccessible due to building code violations and an elevator that cannot be used for guest access.

Concessions are also small and lack proper ventilation, creating inefficiencies in food services.

Accessible seating is below current requirements and there are restrictions on the dispersion of the accessible seating locations. There is also no or inadequate elevator access and capacity in the north stadium.

Lastly, the structure is energy inefficient, which results in increased operating costs and a building that “does not meet council’s overall environmental goals for the rest of the site.”

The reports

Since the LPP depends on attracting events, OSEG commissioned two reports related to the functionality of the Civic Centre and north side stands.

The “TD Place Functional Obsolescence Report” was prepared in late 2019 by ROSSETTI, a firm with international expertise in stadium design.

The report concluded that the centre functions well below “contemporary standards,” and will continue to declined. It also says that TD Place is “incurably obsolete,” saying many of the conditions assess in the report have a direct negative impact on fan and performer moral and culture beyond rising maintenance cost.

These conditions also have a direct impact on lost revenue, the receding ability in performance and output, general safety, accessibility and trends towards decreasing attendance, ROSSETTI’s report continues.

The second report by Leibe Engineering Association found, among other things, that “the existing condition and under-capacity of the structure of Ottawa Civic Centre and North Stands has resulted in restrictions on use and occupancy.”

The recent refurbishment of the Civic Centre and north stands did not address the structural overload issues highlighted in previous reports by Adjeleian Allen Rubeli.

“OSEG believes, and staff agree, that the functional obsolescence of the Civic Centre/north side stands will continue to become harder to retain and attract guests and events to TD Place,” the city report says. “This will likely make the continued improvements that the Partnership has seen, and that OSEG is forecasting over the remaining 33 years of the Partnership, unlikely, or impossible, to attain.”

What's been done so far

The investment to date in renewal work, the city says, has met its targets.

Already, recent investments were made to replace the artificial turf at the stadium, and planned work includes replacement of the boards in the arena.

However, city staff says it does not have a detailed cost estimate of the works that would be needed to upgrade the existing facility.

As outlined in the ROSSETTI report, “The two key types of physical and functional obsolescence found within this facility are deemed incurable as they would require the introduction of new fundamental spatial characteristics in each venue which are not currently adaptable due to the completely inflexible existing structural system and the complex interconnected relationship of the two current venues.”

What the city sees

City staff also recommend exploring an option that would involve demolishing the existing area and north side stands and replace that part of the complex with an entirely new structure.

The arena would be replaced with a 5,000 seat multi-purpose event centre that “is a more appropriate size for OHL sized game attendance and for mid-sized music and cultural events.”

Whatever route the city and OSEG decide to go with, it will be a cost sharing venture, ensuring joint responsibility and transparency throughout the process, the city says.

“Given that Lansdowne Park is designed to be a destination event park, creating a sustainable site will require the input of a broad and diverse group of voices and perspectives from across the city and beyond,” the report states. “Given the importance of public input to any final proposal and the diversity of the target audiences, staff is recommending a budget of $200K.”