TD Place will be ready for Atletico Ottawa home opener, City of Ottawa says

The City of Ottawa insists the field at TD Place will be ready for Atletico Ottawa’s home opener on Sunday, as work continues on the new Event Centre at Lansdowne.

Construction began last December on the new arena at the east end of TD Place, which is part of the $418.8 million Lansdowne 2.0 plan.

Trailers and equipment have been on the field at TD Place through the winter while construction began. The turf was temporarily removed from TD Place over the winter to allow for new underground utilities to be installed to service the new Event Centre.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the city said the field will be ready for Atletico Ottawa to host Vancouver FC on Sunday afternoon.

“Final turf reinstatement activities are underway and the field will be ready ahead of Atlético Ottawa’s home opener on April 26,” Justin Kurosky, manager of design and construction for Lansdowne 2.0, said in an email.

The city did not say when the field will be ready for Atletico to begin training ahead of Sunday’s game.

Construction update

Approximately 50,000 cubic metres of materials have been removed from Lansdowne since the start of construction in December, according to Kurosky.

“Key milestones completed include site mobilization, installation of fencing to separate construction from ongoing Lansdowne programing, and removal of the berm,” Kurosky said.

“Within the construction site, crews are now excavating the footprint of the future Event Centre and constructing the foundation.”

The berm and areas near the Aberdeen Pavilion have been fenced off from the public for construction.

“Throughout construction, Lansdowne remains safe, active, and open for business,” Kurosky said.

“Measures are in place to ensure construction can proceed alongside the normal operation of businesses, events, and programming.”

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