The fight over Lansdowne Park

The last legalchallenge to the $300 million redevelopment of the Lansdowne Park begins on Tuesday, one that will either pave the way for construction to begin on the long-awaited project, or put the city back to square one with the public space.

It was just under a year ago that Ottawa city council votedto forma public-private partnership with Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group to renovate Lansdowne Park.

Under the deal, OSEGwilloversee 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 the Ottawa 67's as tenants.

The deal attracted a vocal group of opponents, who said it was bad for Ottawa taxpayers, andwould create traffic problemsnear the16-hectare central Ottawa property, on Bank Street, just north of the Rideau Canal.

Heritage groups also opposed moving the Horticulture Buildingfrom its current location to a site at the edge of Holmwood Avenue.

In September of last year, the group Friends of Lansdowne Parkfiled a lawsuit, alleging the city broke a half-dozen municipal and provincial regulations by entering into a partnership with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group without seeking other bids.

Friends of Lansdowne also say the planned revamp of Lansdowne Park may endanger some of its heritage features.

Applicationseeks to stop construction

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

The City of Ottawa and OSEG have a lot riding on the decision.

The Lansdowne site, and in particular Frank Clair Stadium, has fallen into disrepair as the city decided what to do with it once the Ottawa Renegades folded in 2006. The renovations are viewed as long overdue.

Meanwhile, OSEG has been awardedCanadian Football Leagueand North American Soccer League franchises both on the conditionthere isan appropriatestadium in place.

Part of the difficulty of following the Lansdowne Park process, both for the players in the legal proceedings but also the public at large, is that the plans have changed a number of times.

For example, city staff had at one time considered moving the Ottawa Art Gallery into the space, only to drop the plan and keep the gallery downtown.

The site plan released in November also featured a group of nine-storey residential buildings to be built behind townhouses facing Holmwood Avenue, but these were later dropped as part ofa settlement with groups fighting the proposed plan at the Ontario Municipal Board.

Friends of Lansdowne has alleged incourt papers filed two weeks ago thatthere are discrepancies between what council approved in June 2010, and the actual deal with OSEG. Theyalso say the city's returnon its investment will not be enough to recoup the costs.

But city lawyershave countered that council knew the goal of revenue neutrality would focus on whether cash on a yearly basis matched or exceeded expenditures, and therefore did not impact the city's annual budget.

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