Ottawa finds itself in a peculiar sporting predicament: two professional franchises, one stadium bet, and a growing sense that the city may have doubled down on the wrong side of the ledger.
That's the thrust of a sharp column from Ottawa Citizen sports columnist Bruce Deachman, who argues that the new CFL playoff format — combined with the contrasting fortunes of the Ottawa REDBLACKS and PWHL Ottawa — shines an uncomfortable light on the logic behind Lansdowne 2.0.
Two Teams, Two Very Different Stories
The narrative couldn't be more stark. PWHL Ottawa has been one of the most compelling sports stories in the city in years. The team has generated genuine buzz, packed crowds, and a passionate fanbase that didn't exist just a couple of years ago. In a short time, women's professional hockey in Ottawa has gone from an experiment to a phenomenon.
The RedBlacks, by contrast, have had a rockier road. The CFL franchise has struggled to replicate the electricity of its 2016 Grey Cup–winning era, and questions about on-field competitiveness have lingered. Now, with the CFL introducing a new playoff format, even the path to the postseason looks different — and not necessarily in ways that flatter the club's prospects.
What Lansdowne 2.0 Was Built For
The Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment — the sweeping, controversial, and enormously expensive plan to rebuild the south-end sports and entertainment district — was conceived with the RedBlacks as its anchor tenant. The new stadium design, the sightlines, the commercial investment: all of it orbits around Canadian football.
Deachman's column cuts to the bone of the issue: what happens when the anchor tenant isn't the team capturing Ottawa's imagination?
It's worth noting the city has invested heavily in Lansdowne's future, and that investment made sense when it was made. The RedBlacks were a CFL success story, and pro football had roots at Lansdowne going back decades. But the sports landscape shifts fast — as PWHL Ottawa has demonstrated with stunning speed.
The Playoff Format Wrinkle
The CFL's new playoff format adds another layer of uncertainty. Changes to how teams qualify for the postseason can reshape competitive incentives mid-season, and for a franchise already navigating pressure to perform and fill seats, clarity on the path to October football matters. Deachman's reading is that the format change does little to help Ottawa's CFL picture.
A City That Loves a Winner
Ottawa sports fans have proven, time and again, that they'll show up when a team gives them a reason to. The Senators have seen attendance mirror on-ice performance almost exactly. The RedBlacks' best years were their fullest years at the old Lansdowne. And PWHL Ottawa is proving right now that new fans can be minted almost overnight.
The question Deachman is really asking isn't whether the RedBlacks are doomed — it's whether the city's planning assumptions from a few years ago still hold in today's market. That's a fair and important question as shovels get ready to break ground on a project the entire city is paying for.
For Ottawa, the hope has to be that both teams find their footing — and that Lansdowne 2.0 ends up being a rising tide for all boats, not a monument to a sports moment that has already passed.
Source: Ottawa Citizen — Bruce Deachman column, ottawacitizen.com
