ALL QUIET ON THE LANSDOWNE FRONT?

Some readers were asking about this yesterday and as fate would have it, The Citizen's Matthew Sekeres has an update on Ottawa's CFL situation.

Highlights: The franchise fee is step -- perhaps more than $6 million -- and prospective owner Bill Palmer says a lot depends on how willing the city under new Mayor Larry O'Brien is willing to help. The mayor, as a commenter pointed out yesterday, has said that he wants to revive the Lansdowne Park site. The tech titan mayor will have to tread lightly to avoid the perception of bending over backwards for big business, but it's early enough in his four-year term and he's not in politics for the long haul as it is, so he might be willing to accommodate the CFL.

It's never clear which side to take in the debate over public funding for sports stadium. We're well aware that sports stadiums are not great economic engines, but neither are big-box stores and the municipal politicians are always too willing to let those blight the landscape. Besides, the people who pay the taxes? A lot of them see sports as part of the culture, if not for them, than for a lot for people.

Related:
City holds key to CFL prospects (Matthew Sekeres, Ottawa Citizen)