Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
19 February 2009 /
le 19 février 2009
Submitted
by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers,
Deputy City Manager
Directrice
municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure Services and
Community Sustainability
Services
d’infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités
Contact
Person/Personne-ressource : Rob Mackay, Acting Director/Directeur intérimaire,
Community Sustainability Services/Services de viabilité des collectivités
(613)
580-2424 x22632, Rob.Mackay@ottawa.ca
That the Planning and Environment Committee recommend
that Council:
1.
Receive the Needs Analysis for Multi-Purpose Sports and
Entertainment Facilities study for information;
2.
Direct staff to consider the factors identified in the Needs
Analysis for Multi-Purpose Sports and Entertainment Facilities study as
base criteria with respect to needs and location in their evaluation of the two
unsolicited proposals; and
3.
Approve the evaluation process outlined in this staff report for the
receipt and assessment of the unsolicited stadium proposals submitted by the
Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) and the Senators Sports and
Entertainment (SSE).
Que le Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement et le Conseil :
1. Prennent connaissance de l'Analyse des besoins pour les installations sportives et de divertissement polyvalentes;
2. Donnent instruction au
personnel de considérer les facteurs relevés dans l'Analyse des besoins pour
les installations sportives et de divertissement polyvalentes comme
critères de base pour l'évaluation des besoins et l'analyse de localisation en
ce qui concerne les deux propositions non sollicitées; et
3. Approuvent la démarche énoncée dans le présent rapport du
personnel pour la réception et l'évaluation des propositions non sollicitées
d'aménagement de stades soumises par l'Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group
(OSEG) et Senators Sports and Entertainment (SSE).
Further to the
City Manager’s memo to Mayor and Members of Council, dated February 13, 2009,
this staff report outlines a two-stage process to allow for Council’s
consideration of the unsolicited stadium proposals received from OSEG and
SSE. In addition, this report is
providing background information pertaining to a study that was commissioned by
the City to examine the need for multi-purpose sports and entertainment
facilities in Ottawa and the evaluation of several potential stadium sites
throughout the city.
DISCUSSION
Evaluation Process
The City of Ottawa has received two unsolicited stadium proposals and as such, should consider a process to effectively and fairly evaluate each proposal. In consultation with the Mayor and the Chair of the Planning and Environment Committee, the City Manager's memo recommended a two-stage evaluation process. This recommended process has been designed to first allow Council the opportunity to understand some of the issues and pertinent information relating to the needs and location of a stadium before they receive any subsequent information relating to the actual evaluation of both the SSE and OSEG proposals.
Stage One:
Stage Two:
1. March 25, 2009 - Tabling of a second staff report at a special meeting of Council outlining the evaluation of the business cases for both the OSEG and the SSE proposals. This report will provide an analysis and will make recommendations for Council's consideration from a business case and land use perspective. It is recommended this report also be referred to a joint PEC and Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee to allow for public consultation;
2. April 7, 2009 - Joint PEC and CSEDC meeting to hear public delegations; and
3. April 22, 2009 - The final report will be considered by Council at its regular meeting.
In August 2008, the Corporate
Research Group Ltd (CRG) was commissioned by the City of Ottawa to undertake a
Needs Analysis for Multi-purpose Sports and Entertainment Facilities for the
City of Ottawa. The study is a detailed
undertaking that identifies both the overall need for a Multi-purpose Sports
and Entertainment Facility in Ottawa, and a comprehensive list of potential
locations for a new facility based on a list of weighted land-use criteria.
The purpose of this assessment was to help
the City determine the need for sports and entertainment facilities and by
extension whether there is a requirement to seek new facilities and/or to
expand or renovate existing facilities.
Finally, the study concludes with a sample locational analysis by
examining and ranking 23 potential sites large enough to accommodate a
multi-purpose sports and entertainment facility.
Please note that although the CRG study undertook both a needs assessment and a location analysis, their report provides insights into overall community value and locational considerations as a part of the due diligence analysis of the City’s investment potential for stadium development. This is only one consideration that will be taken into account in the overall assessment of the OSEG and SSE proposals.
The approach and methodology employed by
the Consulting Team (CRG) to conduct the study consisted of a combination of
research including:
1. Individual interviews and/or focus group meeting(s) with key sport, trade show, cultural organizations and local community groups to identify local needs and expectations with respect to future facility requirements beyond Parks and Recreation’s basic mandate and Infrastructure Project Listing.
Based on the results of the stakeholder interviews and the scan of
other multi-purpose sports and entertainment facilities, the following key
findings, conclusions and facility recommendations were identified:
Existing Facilities:
·
Ottawa
boasts a strong complement of sports and entertainment facilities but several
of these are older, outdated and will require upgrading and/or replacement in
the near term;
·
Most
current major facilities in Ottawa are not considered presently suitable as
venues for professional events/teams, the notable exception being the City’s
baseball stadium; and
·
Ottawa
will, therefore, require new facilities in the future, both to replace aging
ones, and to address new requirements.
Needs Assessment
·
If a
new major sports facility is built in Ottawa, it will be driven by a major
need, either facility replacement (e.g., Lansdowne) and/or the need associated
with a specific use such as professional team(s) locating/relocating to Ottawa
(e.g. professional soccer and/or football). The specific type, size and
elements included in any new facility will therefore be dictated by the mix of
uses/users and the players involved;
·
While
the review of sports and entertainment facilities in other locations suggests
there are challenges in combining uses into a single facility, this approach is
used effectively and is considered the most realistic approach for Ottawa,
given market size. That is to say, Ottawa cannot realistically support more
than one new major facility in the near or even medium terms; and
·
Any
new major facility developed in Ottawa should therefore be designed with
multiple uses in mind and further it should be designed to address needs from
the community level up to professional sports and entertainment. In this way
the new facility can function as a location/node where numerous needs are
served.
Facility Recommendations
·
In
terms of location, any new larger multi-use sport facility developed in Ottawa
should be located either in the urban centre of the City, as part of an overall
development plan for an area that may include commercial, residential and/or
retail redevelopment, or, alternatively in a group setting to achieve a
sport-entertainment district which provides benefits through common
infrastructure, parking, shared facilities for larger events and increased
exposure for all venues to each others’ user groups. In either case,
accessibility is key, notably access to transit, parking, etc.
·
The
size of the facility and associated land area will be dictated by the
uses/users as well as location. Nonetheless, market norms suggest if a new
major facility is developed it should provide:
o seating capacity in the range of 15,000 -
20,000 spectators, with expansion capacity depending upon the event/sport. This suggests a site area requirement of at
least 25 - 30+ acres;
o associated facilities and amenities;
o parking requirement of about one space per
three to four seats, although this will depend upon the uses, location,
availability and proximity to transit, etc; and
o an open-air facility is recommended to
allow ability to introduce a dome during the winter months.
CRG Evaluation Criteria
· Site General (e.g. impact on neighbours, access to amenities);
· Transportation and Access (e.g. proximity/access to major roadways and public transportation); and
· Planning and Infrastructure (e.g. OP status, serviced/unserviced, etc.)
Based on the site selection criteria, the consultant and City staff collectively identified possible sites, and scored/rated each site in terms of the extent to which they met the identified criteria and requirements. Two sites achieved the highest ranking, a City owned site along Bayview Road which includes the Tom Brown Arena, followed by a property located at Carleton University. Comparatively, the City-owned site at Lansdowne Park ranked 6th overall and the City-owned site in Kanata proposed for the development of a soccer stadium ranked 7th out of 23 possible sites.
Overall Evaluation Criteria
Staff will review the stadium proposals based on criteria that consider the net cost to the City (e.g. capital and operating costs, life cycle cost); planning approvals and requirements (e.g. location, site feasibility, transportation) and other needs-related considerations as identified by the CRG study.
Interviews with key stakeholders within the sport, entertainment, and exhibition industries were undertaken in the development of the study.
Given the short circulation period of the staff report, Legal did not
have adequate time to provide a response.
As such, Legal/Risk Management Implications will be distributed
separately.
There are no financial implications associated with this report.
Document 1 Needs Analysis for Multi-Purpose Sports and Entertainment Facilities Study (distributed separately)
Following consideration and deliberation by Planning and Environment Committee on March 10th, this report will be forwarded to Council for its approval on March 11th. Following Council’s direction, staff will evaluate the stadium proposals based on the approved criteria, and report back to a special meeting of Council on March 25th to make recommendations for Council’s consideration.