Lansdowne Park legal showdown begins

The long-awaited legal showdown over the future of Lansdowne Park got underway Tuesday afternoon.

Lawyers for the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), and the opposition group Friends of Lansdowne have submitted documents that are being reviewed by a judge in an Ottawa courtroom. 

At issue is whether the city followed its own rules when it came up with the plan to redevelop Lansdowne Park. The legal outcome will either pave the way for construction to begin on the $300 million project, or put the city back to square one with the public space.

With about 75 people in the courtroom, Friends of Lansdowne's lawyer Steven Shrybman said that the case is fundamentally about accountability and transparency.

At one point, Senior Justice Charles Hackland looked for clarification about how the group's case covers whether this is a bad deal for the city.

Shrybman responded their case is not about the deal's merits, but about the lawfulness of the procurement. The issue is bad faith, not bad economics, he said.

Council approved deal a year ago

It was just under a year ago that Ottawa city council voted to form a public-private partnership with OSEG to renovate Lansdowne Park. Under the deal, OSEG will oversee renovations of Frank Clair Stadium, and build a mix of condominium and retail space in the rest of the park.

The city has argued it was justified in sole-sourcing the project because OSEG is the only group capable of redeveloping Lansdowne Park and at the same time securing a Canadian Football League team and a junior hockey team as tenants.

In September of last year, Friends of Lansdowne filed a lawsuit, alleging the city broke a half-dozen municipal and provincial regulations by entering into the partnership without seeking other bids.

The application seeks to overturn council's decision and prevent the city from starting construction until the matter is dealt with.

CBC reporter Marni Kagan said the citizens group, which was formed in 2009, argued in court the city wasn't open and transparent, violated its own procurement bylaws by abandoning a public design competition, and gave illegal bonuses to OSEG in the form of leases at below-market value.

'Maybe we're going to set a precedent right here and government may wake up.' —Gord Henderson, Friends of Lansdowne Park

Outside court, Doug Ward of Friends of Lansdowne said the city allowed OSEG to "jump the line, and we don't like people who bust into line and get an unfair advantage."

The group has raised more than $200,000 in legal fees to fight the deal.

"It's really about what all of levels of government in this country talk about and fail to perform," said member Gord Henderson. "It's to provide a proper level of transparency and accountability. They don't do it. And maybe we're going to set a precedent right here and government may wake up."

The city and its lawyers did not comment on the legal aspects of the case, but they've always maintained that any decisions they've made about the development have been above board.

Mayor Jim Watson said Monday that Lansdowne will be redeveloped, even if the courts decide this particular deal can't go ahead.

"There's no debate, even amongst those that oppose the current plan, that we just allow Lansdowne to remain the same," he said. "It's tired, it's expensive, it's falling apart and we have to revitalize this important asset in our city."

Senior Justice Hackland set aside two-and-a-half days this week and another three days in the last week of June to hear the case.