The city will be better off financially if football doesn’t work out at Lansdowne Park, at least in the short term.
It may sound counterintuitive, said city manager Kent Kirkpatrick, but under the funding arrangement the city made with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, the city would receive more money during the first 12 years of the deal if the CFL was not playing.
The payment formula does not assume any revenue is coming from the team until well after 2020. After that, the city could expect less money coming in from Lansdowne Park compared to a scenario where the team is successful.
According to a report from Kirkpatrick forecasting five “worst-case” scenarios, the financial model worked out with OSEG will hold up even if interest rates jump or if the retail component is not as successful as they hope.
If all goes according to plan, the city would use 37 per cent of the property taxes generated by the retail development to pay off its debts.
