Suburban Ottawa weighs in on $419M Lansdowne revamp

OttawaResidents of Ottawa’s suburbs are offering mixed reviews of the proposed Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment. Some thought the money could be better spent elsewhere, while others said they supported the project overall. Some welcome Lansdowne 2.0, others say the money could be better spent elsewhereJayden Dill · CBC News · Posted: Oct 22, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoWhat do people in Ottawa’s suburbs think about Lansdowne 2.0?As plans for the latest redevelopment of Lansdowne Park near a final approval from Ottawa city council, CBC asked people in two Ottawa suburbs how they feel about the project.Residents of Ottawa’s suburbs are offering mixed reviews of the proposed Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment. Many were unaware of the major revitalization plan when CBC spoke with them on Tuesday, the day after the release of a long-awaited report on the project. Some expressed concerns over the $419-million cost, saying the money could be better spent elsewhere. Others said they supported the project overall.Key numbers from Ottawa’s big, final Lansdowne 2.0 report”I think it’s worth the cost,” said Jake Albert from Kanata. “I think we need to revitalize our downtown a little bit, get more people going out there, and hopefully that will help drive the economy.”Marjorie McCorriston, who lives in Stittsville, focused on the difficulty of getting to Lansdowne Park. For her, another renovation there is a “huge waste of money.””A lot of west enders I know don’t enjoy driving downtown to the Bank Street area,” she said. “There’s no parking, lots of traffic, and I just think it’s a misuse of the money from taxpayers.”Here are some more thoughts on Lansdowne 2.0 from residents of Ottawa’s suburbs. Their comments have been edited for length and clarity.Matthew Doyle, KanataWhen I think of Lansdowne, I think of sports, and I love that. I love our sports teams in Ottawa. It’s certainly a big budget. If we’re going to have a big revitalization project of Lansdowne, I would recommend that we certainly improve public transport. That’s a big one. I remember the few times I’ve gone to Redblacks games or a few concerts down there. I know it can always be a little bit congested, a little bit packed getting to that downtown core.Omar Othman, GloucesterA lot of newcomers, and even people who have been here for a very long time, are finding it hard to get a job. Maybe we can invest that money where we can actually help people find proper jobs and be tax-paying citizens.We have a lot of homeless people downtown. We can spend the money to support them. At the end of the day, they are citizens of our country, so they need some attention instead of just being thrown to the streets.Vandana Chandan, KanataI’m happy that we will get these things done in Lansdowne and revive the area. But I’m a little bit concerned about the Kanata Centrum area. Businesses are struggling to catch up and there’s a lot of places going out of business.I go to Lansdowne three to four times a year now. [I] used to [go] pretty frequently when I worked downtown, but with moving to Kanata in the last 10 years, [Kanata] fulfils every need. I think they can put the money towards other places, but I haven’t looked into it enough to say whether I’m in favour or against the project.Lentz Prince, Gloucester It’s hard to find spaces to add housing, so in that sense I could see why it would be beneficial, but at the same time I think they could have found a different place because Lansdowne is such a great way for people to congregate. I feel like reducing the space wouldn’t be beneficial. For example, we had the Panda Game two to three weeks ago. Reducing the number of people that would be able to go wouldn’t live up to expectations.Bob Forgie, Orléans I heard it’s gonna be very expensive, very expensive for the taxpayers. There’s a lot more problems in the city — the streets, the homelessness, there’s a lot more things we should be spending money on.Something the mayor is talking about is adding housing. It’s like they’re moving the arena, they’re developing the green space. Then they’re adding condo buildings. I think the idea is to help with the housing crisis. But if you’re going to put it in new places and charge everybody $2,500 to $2,700 a month, well, what’s the point?ABOUT THE AUTHORJayden Dill is a reporter with CBC Ottawa. Feel free to send him your story ideas and news tips at jayden.dill@cbc.caWith files from Gabrielle Huston