Lansdowne $8M in the red despite Grey Cup, NHL game

The Lansdowne Park partnership between the city and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) ended 2017 nearly $8 million in the red, despite hosting such high-profile events as the Grey Cup and an outdoor NHL game.

The Lansdowne partnership posteda net loss of $7.9 million in its fourth year of operation, an improvement over the $14.4 million loss it posted in 2016.

OSEG, which owns the football, junior hockeyand soccer teams that callLansdowne Park home, and runs the arena, stadium and commercial space, is looking for a way to attract more people to the revitalized Glebe district, and generate more revenue.

It intends to come up withrecommendations and present them to city councillors by the end of June.

Visits, bookings up

LansdownePark saw3.9 million visitorsin 2017, up half-a-million from2016.

According to the report, all major retail tenants said business was up in 2017, and 95 per cent of the park's commercialspace was leased.

The city's parks and recreation department is responsible for programmingsuch as cultural events and weddings at the AberdeenPavilion and Horticulture Building. Those buildings hosted 181events from June 2017 to May 2018, generating $462,000 in revenue.

All told, revenue from Lansdowne Park rose from $50 million in 2016 to $69 million in 2017, with more than half of that increase credited to the Grey Cup game and related festivities.

Total profits from Lansdowneoperations hit $8.5 million in 2017, but depreciation, borrowing costs and interestleft the partnership with the $7.9-million loss.

Tweaking the 'waterfall'

OSEGrecently launched a strategic review tostabilize the "waterfall,"a complex 30-year financial arrangement that determines who gets paid, when.

The higher-than-expected costs OSEG incurred to finish construction of the shops at Lansdowneand refurbish the stadium and arenastill hang over the partnership.There was a further$10 million in unplanned spending on technology in 2017, the report said.

According to the latest financial update, Lansdowne Park has now officially graduated from its startup phase, another development since 2016.

• Lansdowne still in startup mode, OSEG says

The latest annual financial update comes 21 months after the 2016 report was tabled,a delay partly attributed to OSEG'schange in CEO Mark Goudiehas replaced Bernie Ashe.

Councillorson the finance and economic development committee will officially receive the reportat their meeting Tuesday.