Ottawa's 2017 Grey Cup plans may expand further beyond Lansdowne Park

Ottawa's 2017 Grey Cup festival may not be as Lansdowne Park-centric as we thought.

Members of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group are in Toronto this week for this year's Grey Cup celebrations, meeting with some of the people they'll be working with over the next year.

OSEG's director of major events said they're learning about how much space everyone needs and their vision of holding as many events as possible at Lansdowne Park may be taking on a different meaning.

"I wouldn't say our vision has changed, we're likely going to modify it knowing the excitement for the Grey Cup next year," said Valerie Hughes.

"Even though our focal point will be Lansdowne, we want it to be a celebration within the city, so we can look at animating other parts of the city so that more people can be involved."

The initial plans for Ottawa's Grey Cup festival, which runs from Tuesday Nov. 21 to Sunday Nov. 26, 2017, involved hosting team parties at Lansdowne Park's restaurants, a tailgate party on the Great Lawn, a street festival in Aberdeen Square and events inside TD Place arena.

OSEG officials said there's still plenty of time to refine their plans for next year's Grey Cup festival.

"When we go back we can get in a room and then start to build out a plan and say, 'What we initially thought would work, we need something bigger or we need a different location or we need more space,'" said OSEG spokesperson Graeme Ivory.

While OSEG has been involved in planning a multiple-day event, including the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, the 2017 Grey Cup is the first time the group is taking the lead.