Lansdowne's TD Place Stadium opens for RedBlacks meet and greet

Thousands of season ticket holders arrived at the new Lansdowne Park Wednesday night for the official opening of TDPlace Stadium.

It was an opportunity for fans to meet Ottawa RedBlacks players ahead of their home opener next week.

An official Lansdowne plaque was unveiled, followed by the ribbon cutting marking the official opening of the 24,000-seat stadium.

Ottawa Fury soccer teammembers were also on hand because they'll beusing this stadium for their games, too.

RedBlacks ticket holders can access free bus and shuttle rides on game days. Bernie Ashe, president of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, is keeping his fingers crossed that fans will leave their cars at home and ride the buses.

"So we need to get 20 per cent of our fans on OC Transpo with free tickets, and we need to get 40 per cent of our fans to use the shuttle service, so tonightis a good test drive for us to see how these services are working," he said.

Organizers are also making life easy for cyclists by offering valet service and a fenced-in area to prevent bikes from being stolen.

The real test of the transportation system will come on July 18, when thousands more fans will flood into the stadium to see the RedBlacks play their firsthome game against the Toronto Argonauts.

The game is sold out.