The Ottawa Senators reached an agreement in principle with the National Capital Commission (NCC) to build an arena and entertainment district at LeBreton Flats. Senators president Cyril Leeder and NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum made the announcement Friday afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre, the Senators’ current home, in Kanata, Ont.
This agreement is seen as the “first step” in the process of building an arena. Nussbaum said the land, which is over 10 acres in size, will be sold to the Senators “at fair market value” which will be determined through a land assessment.
“We’re in a position now where everybody wants this to happen,” Leeder said. “The team wants it to happen. Tobi and his team want this to happen. The community wants it to happen. We really are at a point where having an arena downtown is going to be great for the Senators.”
Friday marked the deadline for the Senators and the NCC to consummate a deal before their memorandum of understanding (MOU) expired. The Senators and the NCC signed the MOU in June 2022. The Senators were originally given six acres of land to develop when they signed that MOU in 2022.
There is no timeline as to when a new arena will be built. Leeder said that the agreement “allows the heavy lifting to go forward” but it will still take “years, not months” before construction begins on a new arena and that “the goal” is to take ownership of the land in 2025. “A number of studies” also need to happen with the land, including geological, transport, financing plans, zoning and environmental cleanup, he said.
“We have done some of that work as it’s not that we’ve been sitting here not doing work over the last year,” Leeder said.
But even if there is no timeline or design renderings available, the Senators have a vision in mind for their new arena’s look.
“Today’s arena, you need a little more space,” Leeder said. “The loading docks are bigger, the amenities in the building are bigger. The people’s spaces are bigger. So that’ll that will allow us to have a site now that we can design that around.
“It would be unusual to have a downtown venue like this without a public outdoor space in front of the venue. Having more land allows that to take place. That couldn’t happen in the original plan.”
The Senators’ president also added that he doesn’t expect taxpayers to contribute funds to the project.
The Canadian Tire Centre has been the Senators’ home since its inception in 1996 when it was unveiled as the Palladium. The CTC is approximately 30 minutes west of downtown Ottawa and seats over 18,500 people.
No “detailed plan” has been created for the future of the CTC. But Leeder said conversations with the city of Ottawa determined “something special” needs to be done to the land once the arena has been vacated.
“(The CTC) has not been a bad location for this team the last 28 years. We just believe that for the next 50 years, the next couple of generations, (LeBreton Flats) is the right place for the team that should be downtown.”
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(Photo of The Canadian Tire Centre: André Ringuette / NHLI via Getty Images)