OSEG sues contractors over 'negligent' Lansdowne work

The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group has filed two statements of claim against five contractors over allegations of negligent work and broken contracts redeveloping Lansdowne Park, including claims of poor sanitary drainage, insufficient lightingand designs that didn't meet fire codes.

OSEG is taking architecture firm Cannon Design to court for $4 million in damages over its design work on the stadium and arena.

The other lawsuit takes aim at four engineering companiesfor $2.3 million over the construction of the stadium's underground parking garage.

In March, OSEGfiled two notices of action on March 3 against these contractors.

Claims against Cannon Design

Cannon Design was hired by OSEG to convert 33,500 squarefeetunder the arenainto leasablespace for retail.

OSEG'scourt filingsinclude claims that thecompany's work had:

• Failedto provide for structural foundation in design for field level seating.
• Inadequateheat tracing for all sanitary lines.
• Designs that failed to account for proper roof slope and drainage on the north stadium stands.
• Designs for the south stadium that did not meet fire code, resulting in blocked sprinklers.
• Designs that failed to include proper sealant for concrete on the upper concourse of the north stadium.

Claims against 4other firms

OSEG namesAdjeleian Allen Rubeli and IBI Group in the other lawsuit, which claims thatthe architectural designs didn't have enough headroom throughout the garage,grates couldn't support car traffic, and that they had concerns over theplans for a concrete wall on one parking ramp.

OSEG claims another firm, Smith and Andersen Consulting Engineering, didn't provide proper draining in a garbage room, that there wasn't enough lighting in the parking garage, and that designs lacked the right electrical connections to some rooms, say court documents.

The fourth firm, David Schaeffer Engineering, failedto provide catch basins and connections to storm sewer for drainage on the field, its drawings didn't have afire hydrant connection on Holmwood Avenue, and thewrong kind of storm water tanks were listed in the designs, according to the statement of claim.

Issues fixed before opening

All issues that could pose a threat to public safety were fixed before TD Place was certified to open in July 2014, said OSEG. Despite tests and inspections, some other problems didn't surface until later.

These are not public safety issues but things we found out and fixed as soon as we knew about them.- Randy Burgess, OSEG'svice-presidentof communications

"For example, a pipe froze in the winter of 2015 because a heat tracing line to keep it ice-free was not properly installed," wroteRandy Burgess, OSEG'svice-presidentof communications, in an email to CBC News.

"These are not public safety issues but things we found out and fixed as soon as we knew about them."

None of the claims in either lawsuit has been tested in court.

The companies named in the lawsuithave not yet filed statements of defence. The firms either did not respond to a request for an interview or said they could not comment.