Had I been more objective, I might not have been so startled by Bob Chiarelli’s support for keeping Lynx Stadium. In his interview with the Sun which appeared in yesterday’s edition, the former mayor appeared to be channeling Miles Wolff:
“If it’s torn down and the land developed for office buildings and
shopping capacities — how many of those do we have right now? And
will continue to build? But, how many functional, in-shape stadiums
does the city have now? Not one.” For the capital of Canada,
unacceptable.
“There is a role for that stadium to help maintain us as a city that
is respected and healthy and exciting as part of the fabric and vision
of Ottawa. We should seize it as an opportunity. Not this ‘the sky is
falling, the sky is falling.’ “
Make that two former mayors who oppose the notion of demolishing the park. There are a few facts people should bear in mind when discussing Lynx Stadium. First, the Stadium is entirely paid for – every last penny. The City (notwithstanding their claim against Ray Pecor) isn’t out any of the money loaned them by the City formerly known as Nepean. Second, in stark contrast with Lansdowne Park, Lynx Stadium has never been with out a tenant in its 17 year history.
NEVER. Mr. Wolff and the Can-Am League have agreed to pay this year’s lease as well as picking up the tab for the 2008 season. Granted, there won’t be any professional ball being played in ’09, but the lease is being fulfilled.
The Stadium, unlike Lansdowne, has always been maintained – extremely well maintained. Heat, hydro, security, phones have all been maintained – at the tenant’s expense for 16 years. The condition of the Stadium speaks volumes about the stewardship of the Lynx, Kyle Bostwick and his uber office manager, Lorraine Charrette. The Stadium has not been a burden on the taxpayer, which cannot be said of Lansdowne or the highly touted “public-private partnerships” like the Sensplex and Ray Friel Centre.
In 2007, less than three years after it opened, the Bell Sensplex ran into financial difficulty and the City extended a lifeline in the form of a $1.4 million bailout. This on top of the $250,000 pumped into the complex each year for thirty years. The situation at a second PPP, the Ray Friel Centre, was worse. In that instance, the management company (the PPP partner) is purported to have underestimated its operating costs while overestimating revenue at the same time. As a result (surprise!), it claimed it couldn’t make a profit and planned to terminate their agreement with the City. The bottom line result for the City? $1.4M more for the Sensplex (with an exposure for the entire construction cost of approximately $25M) and $12M more for the Ray Friel Centre debt.
This is part of what makes this whole discussion about tearing down the Stadium so infuriating to many of us – the City has invested relatively little money in Lynx Stadium over the years. They’ve certainly never invested $250,000 per year in it, nor did they ever bailout or forgive Mr. Pecor’s “debt”. But at the first sign of trouble – before the Stadium is even without a tenant there’s talk of razing it.
My friends, I suggest that that position is incredibly – INCREDIBLY premature. Given the current economic climate (read – a BUYER’S market) is now really the best time to be selling land? Would the City not realize more money on the sale if they kicked the can down the road a few years?
The Voyageurs aren’t here this year, but not for lack of fan support – as my son so eloquently put it, “it’s not our fault this time, is it?”. Quite simply, no. It’s not our fault this time. Atlantic City folded and that set off a sequence of events which led to the loss of our 2009 season.
However, should it come to pass in the next year, the loss of Lynx Stadium cannot be laid at our feet. That terrible, myopic decision will be hung on this Council.
Noel Baca said