Lansdowne deal less lucrative than claimed: lawyer

The lawyer leading the legal challenge against the Lansdowne redevelopment says he has evidence that city councillors were misled when they approved the deal.

The evidence is contained in documents submitted in court Tuesdayby the group Friends of Lansdowne.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

The group is challenging the legality of the city's partnership with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group. OSEG will oversee renovations of Frank Clair Stadium and build a mix of condominium and retail space in the rest of the park.

Steven Shrybman, the lawyer representing Friends of Lansdowne, has said the city acted illegally when it approved a sole-sourced contract worth $300 million with OSEG.

The evidence submitted by OSEG is 123 pages, with about 4,000 pages of supporting evidence, including staff emails andfinancial reports.

City's equity calculation wrong: legal team

The Friends of Lansdowne says there are "discrepancies" between what council approved in June 2010 and the actual deal with OSEG in particular, the calculation of the city's equity in the project.

Council voted to invest $172 million in Lansdowne and were told the city's equity would equal $76 million. Shrybman says his team tried to replicate the city's math and couldn't do it.

He says they were not given the correct financial details.

"They were getting a much better deal than the city manager [Kent Kirkpatrick] now tells us was intended," he said.

City staff have claimed the deal is revenue-neutral for taxpayers, because of an annual return based on the city's equity in the revamped park. Councillors were told they would receive annual paymentsequalling eight per cent of the $76 million.

"Now Mr. Kirkpatrick during cross-examination says oops, wasn't supposed to be $76 million, was only supposed to be $13 million 80 per cent less," he said. "The city's acknowledged that what council approved in one case was far more generous to the city than the plan that is actually being implemented."

Shrybman says the difference means the city could make at least $100 million less than originally thought over the lifetime of the deal.

He says his team of experts has also discovered other contradictions, misrepresentations and inconsistencies in the sole-sourced deal.

"You can't have errors like that if you actually go to a competitive process," he said. "They'll be caught along the way."

In an email releasedTuesday night, the city said it hopes to have a decision on the Lansdowne legal challenge by mid-summer. Kirkpatrick also advised the mayor and members of councilnot to speak publicly about the case while it's before the court.

Court proceedings are scheduled to resume next week.