OTTAWA — Sunny afternoon football games at Frank Clair Stadium are something that many Ottawa residents have enjoyed since the current north-side grandstand was completed in 1967. 

There hasn't always been a team, but professional football is back at the Lansdowne Park complex and it isn't leaving anytime soon.

"As long as football's in Ottawa, we believe it will be played at Lansdowne Park," says Craig Purcell, vice president of business development with the Ottawa Renegades football team.

Parts of Frank Clair stadium are over 40 years old, yet its primary occupants are still happy with it. 

"I can't think of anywhere else we'd rather be. I think we have one of the nicest parks in the league," says Purcell.

A costly endeavour

The Lansdowne Park facility is owned by the city of Ottawa. One of the main sections of the compound is the north-side grandstand, which houses the 10,000 seat Civic Centre arena as well as serving its duty for football fans. The construction of the Civic Centre cost nearly $10 million in 1967.

By comparison, the Corel Centre in Kanata, home of the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators, cost $170 million and was opened in 1996. Clearly, building a new football stadium today would be an expensive undertaking.

The Ottawa 2020 Official Plan makes no reference to any specific plans to build a new stadium in Ottawa. It does, however, state that any new stadiums would have to be built in a central location in Ottawa and have adequate transportation facilities nearby. City employees aren't sure if the city would be willing to spend public dollars to build a new facility similar to Lansdowne Park.

"Now there's a political question for you," says Jack Ferguson, who worked on the Official Plan. "Your guess is as good as mine on that."

Fine tuning

Although there doesn't seem to be a replacement on the horizon for the current Lansdowne facility, the tenants suggest that upgrades could be made.

"Eventually there will have to be something done I would assume," says Jason O'Connor, operations manager for the Junior A Ottawa 67's hockey club. The 67's play their home games in the Civic Centre.

O'Connor suggests that the facility could use more storage and parking space.

Some renovations were needed when the Canadian Football League returned to Ottawa. The CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders folded in 1996 and no major-league sports franchise occupied the stadium for five years afterward. The Renegades played their first season in 2002.

"The city's been a good partner to us and they helped us get the facility up to grade and they continue to make improvements and help us out," says Purcell.

He says the washrooms and concession stands have been improved, as has wheelchair access. The team would like to have more wheelchair seating, but this would be difficult to achieve because there are few accessible areas left in the stadium.

Some of the major upgrades made when football returned to Ottawa did not cost the city anything. Purcell says the Renegades upgraded the private box seats in the south side of the stadium on their own last year, and they hope to add some to the north side this year.

"At the same time, we're going to have to figure out what to do with the (east) end zone because the seating area there is below grade," says Purcell.

No plans to move

Lansdowne Park is located on one of Ottawa's main streets and is close to the downtown area. It is in the centre of an old neighbourhood where traffic is generally backed-up on game days. The facility is directly served by two major bus routes and is within walking distance of several residential areas.

By contrast, the Corel Centre is located well outside of the heart of Ottawa which makes driving or taking a crowded bus a necessity for most Senators fans attending an NHL game.

Purcell says that even if a privately-funded stadium became available in Ottawa, the Renegades would probably not move.

"I can never see that happening," says Purcell. "We like our location now and unless (someone) was building one right next door I don't think we'd move."

O'Connor has similar views about the 67's.

"We're in such a good location and we've forged such a good relationship with the city and our fans that to move somewhere other than the Civic Centre would be probably not in our best interest," he says.

Thus, it seems Lansdowne Park will be a hot spot for Ottawa sports fans for several years to come.