Case in point, this Pimple on the Rideau has been planning and arguing and screwing up Light Rail Transit for years. We are $100 million in the hole with lawsuits, without even digging a bloody hole. And there is no light at the end of the tunnel (so to speak)!
Case two, Lansdowne Park is a messy waste of space. Half of the south side stands were torn down and now it turns out that every seat back of the first 30 rows in the north side needs to be replaced. I remember back in the 1960s when the ceiling tiles in the Civic Centre (part of the north side stands) were falling onto the ice surface during hockey games. The whole complex should be torn down.
But what to do with the Ottawa 67s and the Ottawa (your name inserted here) football team. First, the hockey team. The 67s deserve a new home (call it Kilrea Place) co-located with Carleton University. That location would mean good access, parking and expanded utilization. It is also on the LRT line (if they ever get around to building the LRT).
The football team? I like football. I go to CFL games. But to build a complex for 8-9 home games per year has got to be a joke. Co-locate the CFL football stadium with the stadium at Ottawa University.
Now, the $100,000 question. What do we do with the acreage known as Lansdowne? Forget the idea of an international design competition. Canadians know what would fit the space best. We know how the space is affected by weather; we know the history and know how to design spaces. Hold a competition for architectural students from local universities and colleges and let them make the suggestions. Once we decide on the right design (if we ever do) then let the students form new companies to build the design. (Now that is a real P3.)
What ever you do, just do something and quit putzing around the edges of decision-making.
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