With the annual Panda game set to take place on Oct. 1, Carleton University and the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) have implemented acts of safety and awareness.
Since 1955, the Carleton University Ravens and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees football teams have battled over the iconic prize, Pedro the Panda. The annual game marks the biggest university rivalry and the largest university sporting event in the nation.
According to Carleton University and the T1 Agency OUA report published in July, Panda, alongside other Ottawa university sporting events, creates approximately $42 million in economic profit for businesses.
However, the event doesn’t come without its burdens. Last year, the post-game partying brought disturbance to Ottawa neighbourhoods, particularly on Richmond Avenue where partiers flipped a car. A similar occurrence took place in the ‘80s in a tragedy that saw 36 people taken to the hospital when stadium rails collapsed.
The response then was the same as last year; residents called for the annual game to be banned. Ottawa city councillors have already warned this Panda could be the last.
With Panda and all its benefits at risk, Carleton University, the City of Ottawa, OPS, the University of Ottawa and the Ontario Sports Entertainment Group (OSEG) are collaborating to increase safety measures.
Carleton has already put out messaging to students about safer substance use, sexual violence awareness and reprecussions to disobeying city bylaws. The university also said it had reached more than 3,000 doors in the Glebe area from its door knocking campaign with OPS.
In addition to the standard no re-entry and no bags policies at Panda, there will be added restrictions on alcohol services. The event will see reduced alcohol service and sales will stop early if they reach an “elevated threshold,” according to Carleton’s community information for Panda webpage.
The page also said that Carleton’s health and wellness service will deploy a triage centre at the game, followed by a safe discharge plan and a secondary care area on campus to alleviate pressure on hospitals where possible.
Cst. Sébastien Lemay, community officer for ByWard Market, Lowertown and Sandy Hill, said the OPS liaison team has been engaging the Ottawa community all week to “encourage people to have a good time this weekend but to do so in a safe, lawful and respectful manner.” He asked concerned residents and partygoers alike to contact police at any point about celebrations.
“They’re understandably afraid that this [trespassing, public urination and property damage] will happen again,” Lemay said. “But through the outreach, through the education and the robust police presence over the weekend, we’re doing everything that we can to prevent any of those incidents from happening.”
He said OPS will position officers at both the stadium and surrounding area, who will continue to monitor the area through Sunday. Lemay recalled Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations earlier this year, where he said officers stood on practically every Sandy Hill corner at any given point, and added Panda attendees should expect to see similar police deployment this weekend.
“I’m obviously hoping that everything goes well,” Lemay said, later revealing himself to be a Gee-Gees fan. “There’s a great football game to watch.”
Alison Sandor, public information officer for Ottawa By-law and Regulatory Services, said bylaw authorities will also patrol Old Ottawa South and noted fines for noise violations can reach $1,000.
“We want everyone to celebrate and enjoy the Panda Game, but at the same time we want them to be respectful of their neighbours,” she said.
Lemay concluded safe and civil celebrations this weekend will have the strongest influence over Panda’s continued celebration for years to come.
“I’m really hoping that, when I get back to work on Monday, I have positive feedback from the residents and that there’s been as [few] issues as possible,” he said.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
