A fire on April 10 destroyed businesses on Bank St. near Fifth Ave. Photo by the Sun’s Tony Caldwell.
Fires, unfortunately, happen so I don’t think FIFA is going to get too riled over the scorched building at Bank St. and Fifth Ave.
But it could be an annoyance, with less than a month until Women’s World Cup soccer games are played at Lansdowne Park.
One of the points in the host city agreement between FIFA, the City of Ottawa and the Canadian Soccer Association speaks to beautification.
The agreement says:
The Host City shall ensure it makes best efforts to render the Host City as attractive as possible to the members of the public and visiting football fans, by, for example, and without limitation, obstructing the view to major construction sites which are visible to the public and are close to the Host City’s major transport hubs, entertainment areas and the Stadium(s) in the Host City.
Capital Coun. David Chernushenko said the fire site has come up in discussions in the frame of the FIFA tournament. There’s nothing much the city can do at this point about the damaged building, so at the very least there might be some soccer-themed artwork on the hoarding around the building, Chernushenko said. Nothing has been determined yet.
“We have to accept it’s still going to be a burned-out site,” Chernushenko said.
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Follow City Hall reporter Jon Willing on Twitter at @JonathanWilling, on Instagram at @JonathanWilling and at ottawasun.com.
