Lansdowne Park

Lansdowne Park is a historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located along Bank Street and is adjacent to the Rideau Canal, in central Ottawa. Lansdowne Park contains Frank Clair Stadium, the Civic Centre arena, the Aberdeen Pavilion hall, Coliseum and other exhibition buildings. The Park is also the site of the annual Central Canada Exhibition.

History

In 1847, the then Bytown was deeded 24 1/2 acres by the Dominion government, and acquired another 15 acres bought from owners over several years, to make up the initial grounds of Lansdowne Park. Two notable exhibitions occurred prior to the first Central Canada Exhibition. In 1875 the City of Ottawa hosted the thirtieth annual Exhibition of the Provincial Agricultural and Arts Association. In 1877 an exhibition included the first public demonstration of the telephone in Canada. A third provincial exhibition was held at Lansdowne Park in 1879. In order to provide sufficient space for subsequent fairs, the City acquired more of Lansdowne Park in 1883 for $25,000, as well as the buildings that were already there. The Central Canada Exhibition Association was formed in 1888 and the site witnessed many improvements, including the erection of a new Horticultural Hall and Grandstand. The first Central Canada Exhibition opened on September 20, 1888 and has been held annually ever since.

ports usage

Lansdowne Park has long been the primary sports facility in Ottawa. The sports venues located on the site have played host to championships in curling, figure skating, Canadian football, ice hockey and soccer. The Aberdeen Pavilion hosted Stanley Cup championship games in 1904 played by the Ottawa Silver Seven. The Civic Centre has hosted the 'Brier' curling, Canadian and World's championships in figure skating and the Memorial Cup Canadian junior-age ice hockey championships.

In particular, Frank Clair Stadium and its outdoor field has a long history of sports usage in baseball, football, lacrosse and soccer. The stadium has held Grey Cup football and World Cup Under 20 soccer championships. Before the south stands were built, the field was a combination baseball, outdoor lacrosse and football facility. The Ottawa Giants and Ottawa Athletics professional baseball teams used the facility from 1951 to 1954. In football, the Ottawa Rough Riders and Ottawa Renegades professional football teams used the field until 2005. Today the University of Ottawa football team uses the field. The Ottawa Lacrosse Club used the field from before 1900.

Exhibition and entertainment usage

The site has hosted the annual Central Canada Exhibition since 1888. The Exhibition takes over the full site, offering agricultural and cultural exhibits, midway rides and various entertainments for 10 days in August. The Exhibition was the primary manager of Lansdowne Park for the City until turning over operation of the Park to the City on May 1, 1973.

The Civic Centre and Coliseum buildings are used regularly for other exhibitions such as home shows, industrial exhibitions and conventions, including political conventions. Since 1967, when the Ottawa Auditorium was demolished, Lansdowne Park has become a site of musical concerts, both inside the Civic Centre and outside on the Stadium field. Although the Scotiabank Place arena was built in 1996 and hosts the largest indoor concerts, the Civic Centre continues to host musical concerts.

The future of Lansdowne Park

The City of Ottawa periodically reviews the use and state of the facility. Lansdowne Park originally was a park with sports fields. Since that time, buildings have been built on the site, and today a majority of the site is paved, both for parking and for exhibition use. As the result of a review in the 1990s, the City demolished some of the buildings, and restored some parkland. As of October 2007, the City has begun another review of the site. This was partly due to the condition of the lower south grandstand of the stadium, which had structural problems. [cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2007/09/06/ot-frank-clair-070906.html |title=Ottawa closes stadium section due to cracks in structure |date=September 6, 2007 |accessdate=2008-01-10 |publisher=CBC News] The CFL has awarded an expansion franchise which requires the use of the stadium. The lower grandstand was demolished in July 2008 and a decision has not been made to its replacement.

External links

* [http://www.lansdownepark.ca/ Lansdowne Park official web site]
* [http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/superex/index.html Collections Canada archives on the Central Canada Exhibition]
* [http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/public_consult/lansdowne/index_en.html Design Lansdowne web site]

References & Notes