OTTAWA -- With the clock running on Ottawa's bid to bring the CFL back to Canada's capital, its potential ownership group made its latest play Friday by unveiling plans for a revamped home for the team.
A group of area developers is proposing an ambitious $120-million makeover that would see Lansdowne Park and its dilapidated Frank Clair Stadium converted into a 25,000-seat sports facility with an adjacent amphitheatre, aquarium and hotel as well as retail, office and green space.
It could accommodate professional football and soccer events, as well as concerts for up to 40,000 fans. It's also the latest development in what's turning out to be a battle between competing bids for pro franchises between the two sports.
"There's been a lot of public sentiment about what should be here. What we've tried to do is represent that input," said Jeff Hunt, owner of the Ontario Hockey League's Ottawa 67's, following a news conference to reveal the CFL group's proposal.
Since the demise of the Ottawa Renegades prior to the start of the 2006 season, any attempts to revive pro football have faced the hurdle of finding either a new home or convincing the city to allow for the redevelopment of the current stadium.
In the spring, the CFL granted Hunt's group a conditional franchise pending its ability to get the matter resolved. The league's offer is set to expire in March, so the Ottawa group is keen to get the ball rolling. It's scheduled to meet with the city on Monday, when it will present a more detailed proposal.
Roger Greenberg, chairman and chief executive of Minto Developments Inc., said the plans were just "Step 2 of 122" in the process. The group was hoping to be in play for 2010, but meeting that date might prove too ambitious.
"We haven't formally ruled out the 2010 season," Hunt said, "but as this goes on, it may not be reasonable to hit that date."
There are many other potential stumbling blocks in the group's way.
Hunt's group is proposing a 30-year lease of the land and has to convince the city to agree to pay for the cost of the facelift and maintaining its current operating and repair costs, while it will up the money for the rest.
At the urging of a local city councillor, a large number of residents of the downtown neighbourhood in which the stadium sits hijacked the news conference to voice their concerns, ranging from transit and parking troubles to problems with the land's soil.
More interesting, however, is the competition that's emerging between the CFL group and Eugene Melnyk's Senators Sports & Entertainment.
Earlier this week, Melnyk, owner of the NHL's Ottawa Senators, officially submitted through his group a bid for an expansion Major League Soccer franchise.
Tied to that bid is a $100-million soccer-specific stadium near the Senators' Scotiabank Place home. With the city unlikely to back both, it's essentially become a choice between pro football, pro soccer, or neither.
Although both facilities have said they could accommodate both sports, they've ruled out any partnership and there appears to be no love lost between the two sides.
Asked about the possibility of a partnership with Melnyk's group, Bill Shenkman, chairman of the Shenkman Group of Companies, said representatives from the groups met and ruled out the idea.
Both Shenkman and Hunt said they have no interest in bringing an MLS club to Ottawa, although soccer would be accommodated in other ways. Shenkman is a shareholder in Millwall FC, which plays soccer in England's League One, and plans are already in place for that club to play a pre-season friendly in Ottawa next August.
"We're not asking him anything. He had his press conference, very short on details," Shenkman said in reference to a news conference Melnyk held last month to launch the MLS bid. "They were absolutely clear they were not interesting in sharing or participating in any partnership.
"It was Scotiabank Place or nothing and MLS or nothing."
Shortly after Friday's news conference by the CFL group, Melnyk issued his own statement, which appeared to highlight some of the potential flaws in the downtown plan.
"Today's proposal gives our community another alternative to consider in resolving the city's future for a multi-purpose outdoor stadium. Today's option will provide healthy and constructive debate on a vitally important issue for our city," it read.
"Proper, modern-day stadium planning must take into consideration a number of key variables, including access to public transit, a site development plan to manage high vehicular traffic, access to a minimum of 7,500 parking spots, experienced large-scale facility operators, and a fully integrated organization with a proven track record of attracting and maximizing the diverse range of sporting and entertainment opportunities fitting of a world-class venue.
"I'm confident the City of Ottawa and our community will carefully and fully evaluate these and many other factors as it plans the future location of our city's stadium."
