The extra hours for police, paramedics and a host of other city services for Ottawa 2017 events will cost about $3.5 million next year.
By Ryan Tumilty
A report going to council’s finance and economic development committee on Tuesday has the breakdown for Ottawa 2017 events, like Red Bull Crashed Ice and the Sky Lounge.
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The report was requested earlier this year by Coun. Diane Deans, who asked what the city’s costs would be and where the money would be found.
Deans was unavailable for an interview Monday.
The report lists 16 major events next year as part of the celebration for Canada’s 150thbirthday.
The most expensive event will be Canada Day, where the city expects an additional $1.5 million in costs above and beyond a usual year.
Another expensive item for the Ottawa 2017 office is expected to be La Machine, an art installation project that involves a large mechanical spider and dragon that breathes fire moving around to various part along the city.
The city estimates $512,000 in direct cost for that event alone. The Red Bull Crashed Ice event is the second most expensive event on the list, with an expected $332,000 price tag.
In total, 10 of the events are being funded through the Ottawa 2017 office at a cost of $1.2 million. An additional two events – the Grey Cup and New Year’s Eve celebrations – are funded by the office with partner funding.
Guy Laflamme, executive director of Ottawa 2017, said all of that money has been found and budgeted for.
“We have budgeted for an amount in the order of $1.5 million to cover any extra demand on municipal services,” he said.
LaFlamme said both La Machine and Crashed Ice will be large events with thousands of people downtown, which is why those costs are so high.
He said they have been working closely with the city’s special events advisory team to ensure everything is in place.
“They’re the one who are assessing the cost and the value of all of our needs.”
This article originally appeared in Metro News.
