Lansdowne 2.0 Doesn’t Work: MULVIHILL

08/18/2025

mulvihill.small .logo

How rich is this? Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe pontificating on the needs of our city.

Recently Sutcliffe said: “I don’t think there’s an appetite for public dollars to go into an NHL hockey arena. There are other priorities that we’re working on right now to invest in public assets, including recreation facilities, including Lansdowne Park, including roads and sidewalks and bike lanes. There are many, many other priorities that we’re focused on right now and I don’t think the public wants us to write a cheque to support the construction of an NHL arena”

Well Your Worship, you are correct about no appetite for tax dollars being spent on a new NHL arena. However, if you listen carefully, you might just hear the public telling you that they don’t have the appetite for yet another kick at the Lansdowne Park can. The public would prefer that you didn’t write a cheque to support this money-losing entity. Are you listening?

There are indeed many, many other priorities including roads, sidewalks, community centers, life-cycle renewal projects, community housing and public transit, to name a few, that could use a really good boost in their funding envelopes.

Perhaps Your Worship, some thought could be given to fixing TD Place at Lansdowne Park while waiting for LeBreton Flats to become the new home of the Ottawa Senators. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars could be saved by reaching out to the Sens and working out an amicable agreement to use that shiny new arena for Ottawa 67s and PWHL while the current arena and north-side stands undergo repair. It seems pointless to tear down a facility that needs some work … certainly not hundreds of millions of dollars worth of work but enough to ensure the current arena and north-side stands are safe and fully functional for many years to come.

Your Worship, there are too many negatives to proceed with Lansdowne 2.0 so why aren’t you hearing what is being said? Did you not read the auditor-general’s report on Lansdowne 2.0? If not, why not?

There is something that just doesn’t make sense about your continued support for Lansdowne 2.0. Lansdowne Park is a money-losing entity. The mayor is the gatekeeper of taxpayer dollars. By all means, build those two condominium towers that would give the city an influx of property tax dollars but fix what exists, not rebuild it..

It might be worthwhile to rethink your support of this project and use that money for life-cycle renewal projects that would benefit the city as a whole. Lansdowne 2.0 just doesn’t cut it.

Donna Mulvihill is a community activist and former hospital coordinator.