Posted by: Sue Neill
Those passing by the former Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park will have noticed that the barriers are up and the first stage in the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park has begun. For safety reasons and to confine the construction, the Great Lawn is no longer accessible and will be blocked off until the new Event Centre and landscaping have been completed at the end of 2028. The size of the Great Lawn will be significantly reduced to accommodate the new event centre.
The City is working hard to keep citizens, especially those in the neighbouring communities, informed of progress. A Notice of Construction for Lansdowne 2.0 was delivered to my door on December 11, 2025. As well, a community engagement group led by David Jones of the City, has met once and is in regular communication. A special email address (LansdowneRenewal@ottawa.ca) has been established for residents to express concerns or ask questions about the construction and the EngageOttawa website (engage.ottawa.ca) will provide updates on a regular basis. Please use that email if you have suggestions, concerns or complaints about the construction and please copy the OSCA Lansdowne Working Group at OSCALansdowneWG@oldottawasouth.ca. Additionally, residents can sign up for the project newsletter at Ottawa.ca/LansdowneRenewal. There are lots of ways to stay informed about this project.
On December 17, 2025, the City hosted an open house on the concourse at TD Place to discuss the redevelopment and construction of Lansdowne 2.0. Information boards from this session were also posted on Engage Ottawa after the event.
The cutting and removal of trees at Lansdowne was a topic of interest at the Open House with cutting scheduled to begin on December 18. 122 trees are to be removed and replaced.
Residents of Old Ottawa South and the Glebe have raised safety concerns about trucks passing through the neighbourhoods and in particular at the intersections of Bank and Wilton Crescent and Bank and Sunnyside. The City confirmed that, at least at Bank and Wilton Crescent, additional staff to work as flaggers controlling traffic will be on duty. We are continuing to stress the importance of extra safety measures on Bank Street in Old Ottawa South from Wilton Crescent to Riverside.
The construction of the event centre will begin in earnest in the first quarter of 2026 and finish at the end of 2028. Then the work on the north side stands will begin.
Sue Neill is OSCA Vice President and Chair of the OSCA Lansdowne Working Group.
Featured in the January 2026 OSCAR.