Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Phase 1 | Completed

[citydwlr]

Originally Posted by JeffB

I was at the store at the end of December. The young women working there were adjusting their space heater behind the counter. They said something about moving it down closer to where the box offices are. Might be a better spot for it when events aren't going on, but it might get in the way during games.

The Ottawa Fury FC confirmed the Team-Shop move today:
http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/2016/03/01/td-place-team-shop-shutting-down-for-upcoming-move

[rocketphish]

Lansdowne Park gym closed after damage from TD Place concert

Drake Fenton, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: April 2, 2016 | Last Updated: April 2, 2016 4:16 PM EDT



The GoodLife Fitness Centre beneath TD Place is closed “until further notice” because ceiling tiles crashed to the floor following a wild Friday night concert at the arena.

Alternative hip-hop duo Twenty One Pilots performed at the Lansdowne Park venue Friday and more than 5,000 people were in attendance, said Randy Burgess, vice-president of communications for Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), who operate the arena.

“Over 5,000 fans were jumping around at the same time at the (Twenty One) Pilots show and a few ceiling tiles fell at GoodLife, which is in the basement under the stands at TD Place. No one was in the club at the time,” Burgess said.

The fitness centre was closed Saturday and a GoodLife manager said the centre would remain closed “until further notice.”

During concert, the official account for TD Place tweeted: “TD Place is literally jumping off the ground for the (Twenty One Pilots) finale!”

The account also tweeted that at least 900 people were on the venue’s dance floor during the show. That was described as “No problem!”

Others on social media described a wild and successful show.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...losed-after-damage-from-td-place-concert

[J.OT13]

As much as I love the Civic Centre (architecture and history), maybe they should have just torn it down and rebuilt from scratch. A smaller version of 6K to 8K would have sufficed.

[Dixie Normis]

As the novelty continues to wear off and deficiencies like this continue to surface, it will become more and more obvious how badly botched the whole arena/stadium aspect of this development was

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Dixie Normis

As the novelty continues to wear off and deficiencies like this continue to surface, it will become more and more obvious how badly botched the whole arena/stadium aspect of this development was

Welcome to the forum! Some examples of what makes you think this was botched would be most welcome...

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Welcome to the forum! Some examples of what makes you think this was botched would be most welcome...

There was never really a consideration of alternatives. The city accepted a hastily awarded provisional expansion franchise as justification to sole source the whole thing and do it exactly the way Minto wanted it (existing arena, existing north stand, large format stores, with almost everything paid for by the city). Maybe that is where things would have ended up in the long run, but there was no attempt to determine if other partners were willing to seek out a franchise if the city was willing to make a large capital investment, or whether both the stadium and arena needed to stay in the current configuration, or whether there were more creative options for the site.

Yes it is better than it was, but almost any large scale capital investment by the city at that site would have made it better than it was.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by acottawa

There was never really a consideration of alternatives. The city accepted a hastily awarded provisional expansion franchise as justification to sole source the whole thing and do it exactly the way Minto wanted it (existing arena, existing north stand, large format stores, with almost everything paid for by the city). Maybe that is where things would have ended up in the long run, but there was no attempt to determine if other partners were willing to seek out a franchise if the city was willing to make a large capital investment, or whether both the stadium and arena needed to stay in the current configuration, or whether there were more creative options for the site.

Yes it is better than it was, but almost any large scale capital investment by the city at that site would have made it better than it was.

I was looking for a fresh, new, opinion. Sigh.

[lrt's friend]

When it comes to Lansdowne, it isn't perfect, but I have visited there for many different reasons since it re-opened two years ago. I was just there last Saturday, and I usually pop in when I am in the Glebe or Ottawa South. I just got off the phone with a friend who is anxious to go there with me. He is disabled so getting there is difficult on his own.

[kwoldtimer]

I was in Ottawa last week visiting friends who live in the Glebe. Having strolled through a couple of times in the past, none of us could think of any reason to go down to Landsdowne.

[ars]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I was in Ottawa last week visiting friends who live in the Glebe. Having strolled through a couple of times in the past, none of us could think of any reason to go down to Landsdowne.

I can think of 4 reasons right off the top of my head without thinking on it:

67
Redblacks
Cineplex
Concerts

[YOWflier]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I was in Ottawa last week visiting friends who live in the Glebe. Having strolled through a couple of times in the past, none of us could think of any reason to go down to Landsdowne.

So what you're saying is that you don't like shopping, eating, drinking alcohol, or coffee, watching sports, or movies.

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

So what you're saying is that you don't like shopping, eating, drinking alcohol, or coffee, watching sports, or movies.

I have to admit that once I tried the VIP movie experience, I've never gone back. That alone drags me into Lansdowne every once in a while... then there is usually a pre or post flick beverage and munchies.

I've been there more in the past year than I went in the past 5. I still find the overall experience a little "sterile", but hopefully with time a more organic ebb and flow will develop.

[YOWflier]

Lansdowne is infinitely more animated during warmer months when sports and patios are in full swing (duh).

A major thing lacking at Lansdowne is greenery (gasp!). The place is in dire need of some trees and/or planters to inject some color into the area.

Weren't there trees originally in place that died? Either way, it should be a priority to add some (back).

[HighwayStar]

Yeah, I know summer is better

Good call with the greenery... that would certainly help. To me though, even in summer the whole area (even with the animated patios) just seems "square" and "planned".... don't know how else to describe it.

I'm not complaining... as mentioned I've been there more than ever, and will continue to go... so something works

[eltodesukane]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

As much as I love the Civic Centre (architecture and history), maybe they should have just torn it down and rebuilt from scratch. A smaller version of 6K to 8K would have sufficed.

The Canadian Tire Centre is already considered obsolete, to be replaced by a new one elsewhere. What about the TD Place Arena (Civic Centre, opened in December 1967)? Even more obsolete..

[phil235]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

The Canadian Tire Centre is already considered obsolete, to be replaced by a new one elsewhere. What about the TD Place Arena (Civic Centre, opened in December 1967)? Even more obsolete..

Obsolete for what purpose? It's a junior hockey arena. What exactly is it missing that you would like to see?

Kitchener remains one of the best buildings in the league by most accounts, and it was built in 1952. City council there has repeatedly opted to renovate rather than spend the $50-$100 million that a new 9000 seat arena would cost, and it works fine. Note that we got a renovated stadium and arena for slightly more than that.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by phil235

Obsolete for what purpose? It's a junior hockey arena. What exactly is it missing that you would like to see?

Kitchener remains one of the best buildings in the league by most accounts, and it was built in 1952. City council there has repeatedly opted to renovate rather than spend the $50-$100 million that a new 9000 seat arena would cost, and it works fine. Note that we got a renovated stadium and arena for slightly more than that.

If you're not the London Knights, 9000 oversized for an OHL arena. Attendance in recent years is in the 3-4 thousand range. They haven't been close to capacity since 04-05, which was an NHL lockout year.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Dixie Normis

As the novelty continues to wear off and deficiencies like this continue to surface, it will become more and more obvious how badly botched the whole arena/stadium aspect of this development was

Wow, banned on the first post. Gotta be a record!! I assume this was probably Fatty, using a different name but same email?

[phil235]

Originally Posted by acottawa

If you're not the London Knights, 9000 oversized for an OHL arena. Attendance in recent years is in the 3-4 thousand range. They haven't been close to capacity since 04-05, which was an NHL lockout year.

Kitchener was looking at a 9000 seat arena, hence the figure in my post.

Not sure what stats you are looking at in terms of attendance. The 67s were over 7000 per game every year until 2011-2012, when they still averaged 6500. They had a big drop off when they moved to Kanata, and they haven't yet recovered since coming back to Lansdowne (all coiinciding with bad, bordering on terrible teams and almost no marketing), but there are a lot of signs that they are trending higher. They ended the season with 3 of 4 games over 5000, as were both of their playoff games.

With a good team next year, or even a few high end prospects to watch, those numbers will be up significantly. It would be very shortsighted to build a new arena for the 67s with a capacity of less than 6-7000 people. The cost of one of those would probably be closer to the high end of the $50-100 million range that I cited.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

Lansdowne is infinitely more animated during warmer months when sports and patios are in full swing (duh).

A major thing lacking at Lansdowne is greenery (gasp!). The place is in dire need of some trees and/or planters to inject some color into the area.

Weren't there trees originally in place that died? Either way, it should be a priority to add some (back).

I'd prefer non-greenery. Flower the snot out of the place.