According to an article by the Ottawa Citizen‘s Joanne Chianello, the Ottawa Senators are “contemplating a move downtown.”
On September 30th, the NCC’s invited the private sector to submit plans to develop a 9.3 hectare parcel of land (that could be expanded to 12.3 hectares) at LeBreton Flats for the purpose of putting a signature attraction in the area adjacent to the Canadian War Museum.
In their own words, the NCC was “seeking innovative proposals for the largest and most significant urban development site in Canada’s Capital. Proponents are invited to imagine a world-class destination, an inspirational place that will demonstrate design excellence and innovation, an attractive place for Canadians and visitors alike.”
With the Canadian Tire Centre is approaching its 20th anniversary and a modern arena’s life-cycle spanning approximately 30 to 40 years of age, it only makes sense for the Senators to be interested in an attractive parcel of land for the purpose of building a new arena – especially when you consider how many years it would take to go through the process.
By the time the Senators’ proposal could be approved and developed, the CTC would unquestionably be in the latter stages of its utility, necessitating a move anyways. So when current LRT plans indicate no intention of reaching the vicinity of the CTC, it just makes the long-term vision to move out of Kanata that much easier.
The Senators do need to get ahead of the arena issues before it becomes a larger concern, so bearing that in mind, the fact that the Senators are considering a move to LeBreton is less surprising than if they weren’t considering it at all.
Not only will the LeBreton site house a LRT station, but as one of the league’s smallest corporate markets, the perpetuating belief is that a downtown arena would allow the Senators to boost ticket revenue thanks to a centralized location being more accessible to a greater number of fans.
Building a downtown arena isn’t without its share of obstacles however and I’m not even talking about the competition for the NCC’s land. Funding a new arena is going to be a huge obstacle for an organization that, if you believe Forbes’ estimates, is already saddled with a debt of approximately $140 million.
And as Senators president Cyril Leeder articulated in an old interview on TSN 1200, other important considerations need to be made.
“Yeah, land and who builds the building and who owns it. Those are all considerations you have to review and you couldn’t view any one of those on its own.”
Will Melnyk or the Senators be able to fund building an arena themselves? I can’t imagine the public has the appetite to stomach a heavily subsidized arena, but there may be other options.
According to Chianello, the organization has been approached by the private sector.
“The Senators told the Citizen the sports organization has been ‘approached by numerous well-established private sector companies and community organizations who have expressed a strong desire to partner with us on developing a world-class proposal for the site.'”
Melnyk has said that he would never take on partners to own the Senators because he “wasn’t that kind of guy”, but I can’t envision a scenario in which he continues to own the Ottawa Senators without Senators Sports and Entertainment (SSE) owning the arena as well.
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