Give the ranters and pouters time to get their shit together. There is still a lot of time for that to occur.
I understand where the NCC was coming from. As a semi-political governmental entity, they had to demonstrate that they were taking into account environmental issues, Algonquin issues, political issues, etc. Then the negotiations could occur.
Glad they have generally resolved the issues and agreed to sell the land at "fair market value", whatever that turns out to be.
I suspect 'fair market value' is a bit misleading since the value of the land is going to be intrinsically linked to the cost of decontamination which as I understand it is still an unknown both in terms of scope and who's taking it on. I'd throw acquisition cost out the window, Andlauer could end up getting it for a song at the end of the day.
Here is how the optimist in me sees this the more I think about it. The Sens have just 'purchased' a parcel of land that the federal government has a massive stake in. We know the NCC isn't going to go halfway with Lebreton and through leases and land sales etc... they essentially have an unlimited budget to develop it into a model of sustainability that makes it a global icon. We're talking a gold standard master plan that goes up against anything out there in the world's most forward thinking cities.
For an example think of what the Highline did for the City of New York... That project singlehandedly put New York back on the map and will pay dividends for the next century. It gets written up in all kinds of publications and New York and the various authorities involved did an excellent job to leverage the good press and maximize the return on the project in general.
So, if the NCC is going global with Lebreton what's a little help in making sure the arena is the hallmark of the whole thing? Especially when the help could be conveniently baked into the decontamination or land transfer. It can also be concealed under the guise of the partnership, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I could think of 100 ways the NCC could pitch in in a way that manages the optics- they cover the cost of all public space around the arena for example, or all the infrastructure...
With such a massive opportunity and all sorts of global recognition at stake the City of Ottawa isn't going to sit idly by, they will do everything to hitch their trailer to it. It would be bad business to not get involved. Maybe the Province too.
So, the Sens have the opportunity to position themselves and the arena as a relatively affordable part of something absolutely massive with a lineup of drooling stakeholders looking to have their name stamped somewhere amongst it. It's a scenario where you could see the burden of the $1B price tag for the arena portion of the project creatively slashed to make sure it becomes a worthy centrepiece to everything else that will happen at Lebreton.