Ottawa's Lansdowne Park overhaul has hit a key construction milestone, with the city reporting that major excavation work for the new Event Centre is now about 95 per cent complete.
Where the money and dirt have gone
Total spending on the Lansdowne 2.0 project to date stands at $59.5 million, representing 14 per cent of the total $418.8-million budget. General contractor EBC Inc., based in Quebec, holds a $312.8-million construction contract for the works, of which $31.0 million, or 10 per cent, has been spent so far.
Crews have removed approximately 60,000 cubic metres of soil from the site to reach that near-complete excavation milestone. Foundation construction across the Event Centre footprint has been underway since April.
What's being built
The overall project schedule anticipates the Event Centre will be completed in the third quarter of 2028, giving Ottawa residents a clearer sense of when the new venue will actually open its doors.
The phases still to come
The Event Centre is only the first of three phases planned for the redevelopment. Once it wraps up in fall 2028, work shifts to the north side stands, running from late 2028 to late 2030.
The final phase covers a mixed-use development and retail spaces, which is set to begin in 2031 and wrap up by the end of 2034.
Why it matters for Ottawa
With excavation nearly done and the budget tracking close to plan, the update gives Ottawa residents a firmer timeline for when the disruption around the arena site will ease and when the bigger stadium capacity, and the retail and mixed-use additions after it, will actually arrive.
The city has not released a specific date for when the north side stands or retail phase construction will begin beyond the broad windows above, so residents planning around the site long-term should expect further updates as each phase nears its start.
Sources: Ontario Construction News, Daily Commercial News (ConstructConnect)
