The Ottawa Stadium - Community Visioning

Background

The Ottawa Baseball Stadium is located in the city’s east end at 300 Coventry Road. The stadium was built to house the Ottawa Lynx of the International League in 1993, leasing multiple tenants afterwards, however due to financial implications it was left idle intermittently.

In September 2020, the park announced a 10-year lease effective January 1, 2021, allowing the leaseholder, Sam Katz of the Winnipeg Goldeyes (former Mayor of Winnipeg) and the Ottawa Sport and Entertainment Group, to focus on building a profitable business venture including hosting the Ottawa Titans as the city’s seventh professional baseball franchise. The stadium will remain a shared use facility between the City and the leaseholder. The tenant intends to host several non-baseball special events, which will be organized in coordination with the City’s centralized allocation unit. The ballpark’s story continues to be written with the arrival of the Titans and many revamps scheduled for the nearly 30-year old stadium. Such events provide the opportunity for increased use of the facility and revenues for both the tenant and the City.

Community Visioning Process

Council has directed planning and recreation staff to work with all interested members of Council, local and national community groups and other key stakeholders to develop a vision for use and redevelopment of the site, identifying opportunities for increased community usage of the stadium and its exterior.

The visioning sessions will include identifying opportunities for increased community usage of the Ottawa Stadium, opportunities to increase public and community usage of the facility, opportunities for increased community usage outside of the baseball season and opportunities to attract a more diverse mix of sport uses.

Community engagement on the use of stadium and potential land use for the site will occur June 2022 and will include an analysis of all options for the site.

The goal of the visioning process is to provide Council a recommendation report for the stadium and its exterior, identifying what will create a more livable, inviting, and dynamic environment for people and families, while enhancing mobility, city life, and financial sustainability.