When parks go unmaintained, streets deteriorate, and basic infrastructure needs are deferred while the city services stadium-related debt, the trade-offs become visible to every resident.
Recent Redblacks Losing Streak Affects More Than the Scoreboard
Saturday, 8 August 2026 — Peter Karwacki
The Ottawa Redblacks are 0-8. Their regular-season losing streak has reached 14 games. Empty seats are visible, the atmosphere at TD Place is suffering, and the financial consequences are already measurable. This is not just a sports story. It is a fiscal warning for every property-tax payer in Ottawa.
Poor on-field performance directly hits ticket sales, concessions, fan engagement, and the revenue streams that support both OSEG and the long-term Lansdowne 2.0 model. The numbers are no longer speculative.
The Attendance Collapse and the $2 Million Hit
In 2025 the Redblacks averaged 18,136 fans per home game. Through five home games in 2026 the average has fallen to approximately 15,124. Projecting the remaining four home games at a similar level produces a full-season average near 15,070 — a drop of more than 3,000 fans per game.
| Metric | 2025 Full Season | 2026 Projected (9 games) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Attendance | 18,136 | ~15,070 | –3,066 |
| Total Fans | 163,224 | ~135,600 | –27,624 |
| Est. Ticket Revenue (@$45–50 avg) | $7.35–8.16 M | $6.10–6.78 M | –$1.25–1.38 M |
| Est. Concessions / Merch (@$20–25 per fan) | $3.26–4.08 M | $2.71–3.39 M | –$0.55–0.69 M |
| Combined Direct Loss | — | — | ≈ $1.8 – 2.2 Million |
Redblacks team revenue stood at approximately $20.5–20.6 million in the most recent reported years. A $1.8–2.2 million shortfall is therefore a 9–11 % reduction in team revenue. In 2024-25 the team already posted an operating loss of roughly $3.8 million (expenses $24.4 million versus revenue $20.6 million). A further double-digit percentage hit deepens that loss and compounds the multi-year deficits recorded under the Lansdowne partnership.
Lansdowne 2.0: A Deal Most People Cannot Decipher
The financial structure of Lansdowne 2.0 is complex by design. The official project cost is $418.8 million (critics place the all-in figure closer to $480–483 million). The city markets a “net cost to taxpayers” of only $130.7 million. The remainder is supposed to be covered by future revenues: air-rights sales, property-tax uplift, hotel-tax increases, ticket surcharges, OSEG rent, and long-term “waterfall” profit distributions.
Roughly $331 million will be borrowed. Annual debt-servicing costs are projected at $17.4 million; after optimistic offsets the city claims the true annual pressure falls to about $4.3 million. The partnership and debt obligations stretch to 2075 — a 50-year bet that people will keep buying tickets and that retail and team performance will meet projections.
The city’s own auditor general has repeatedly warned that key assumptions — especially Redblacks revenue growth — are aggressive and do not match historical results. Shortfalls of tens of millions of dollars in expected waterfall distributions have already been quantified as realistic risks.
Privatizes Profits, Socializes Losses
The risk allocation is clear:
- Private upside — OSEG retains operational control, ownership of the Redblacks and 67’s, and the ability to capture value if attendance recovers, events succeed, or commercial activity improves.
- Public downside — The City of Ottawa (taxpayers) carries the bulk of construction risk and the long-term debt. If revenues under-perform — as the current losing streak and attendance drop illustrate — the city remains responsible for debt service.
This is the classic public-private partnership pattern: the private partner keeps the operational levers and potential profits; the public sector absorbs the heavier, longer-duration financial exposure. OSEG has historically covered operating losses, yet under the new terms the heaviest capital and debt risks have shifted onto the city. The recent departure of the Ottawa Charge (PWHL) because the planned event centre is too small is already an early example of tenant risk materializing.
Why This Matters Now
An eight-game (and longer) losing streak is not an abstract future problem. It is reducing cash flow today, eroding the fan base, and making the multi-decade revenue projections that underpin Lansdowne 2.0 look more fragile. When parks go unmaintained, streets deteriorate, and basic infrastructure needs are deferred while the city services stadium-related debt, the trade-offs become visible to every resident.
Suburban and rural councillors provided the votes that advanced the project. As the real costs and risks become clearer, that political calculus may change. Taxpayers deserve a model they can understand and stress-test — not a 50-year black box that privatizes upside and socializes downside.
The Redblacks need to win games. Ottawa needs a stadium deal whose risks and rewards are transparently and fairly shared. Right now, neither is happening.
Go Redblacks, Go — and demand better accountability for the public purse.
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