Yahoo Sports The Ottawa Senators and the Concept of a New Downtown Arena: There's Much to Gain, But Some Things Will Be Lost
With stable ownership now in place in Ottawa, the Senators have made major changes in management, hockey operations, and the on-ice product.
Now the organization can shift more attention to the prospects of a new arena.
Sens owner Michael Andlauer, Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Senator CEO Cyril Leeder, representatives from the National Capital Commission (NCC), which owns the land at LeBreton Flats, and dozens of journalists have publicly catalogued and discussed where the Senators' next home might be and when shovels might go into the ground.
The Senators have been rumoured to be moving to LeBreton Flats for about a decade now. Ottawa residents will remember the disastrous “Rendevous LeBreton” proposal in 2018 that began with an ambitious development plan but ended with the NCC pulling the plug and Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and local developer John Ruddy each filing lawsuits against one another.
It is a minor miracle that the Senators still have preferred bidder status with the NCC to develop the site in 2024.
"I'm optimistic," Andlauer said this week on the Coming in Hot Podcast. "I met with the NCC as late as last week. And that's the first step. I guess, to be perfectly transparent, the original deal was really more window dressing to make sure that this team got sold at the highest price.
"I think the NCC is well-intentioned. Some people are probably rolling their eyes right now because of the experience they've had with the NCC. But, you know, you've got to go in there with good intentions. And I think they understand what our fans need.”
Whether the Sens’ next home is at LeBreton or somewhere else, there are many obstacles to overcome and pitfalls to avoid.
As the September deadline for an agreement fast approaches, it now seems like LeBreton remains the number one priority for all parties involved, and it makes sense. Conveniently located near two bridges to Gatineau and less than 2 km from Parliament Hill, LeBreton has been undeveloped (and contaminated due to decades of industry on the site) for 60 years.
Other than limited highway access and surrounding parking and business space, it’s an ideal site for drawing a more diverse crowd of fans, encouraging walk-ups, and positioning Ottawa as a world-class city. Visiting players and fans to a downtown arena will see what Ottawa has to offer other than an empty commute from the Brookstreet Hotel to the arena.
Fans will be able to plan more activities that are more easily accessible around the game itself, much like they do for the 67's and REDBLACKS at Lansdowne. It will make Ottawa a more attractive place to play, show off the city, and make the team a more attractive destination for top players.
But this will come at a cost.
The expected price for a new building is estimated to be around $1 billion, and it’s not all going to come from Michael Andlauer’s pockets and generosity. The club will likely need help from all levels of government – federal, provincial and municipal.
Historically, using public funds for a new arena to support private interests like a sports franchise has been fraught with pitfalls and cautionary tales, and it's rare that municipalities fully recoup their costs.
An exception appears to be Edmonton, where a ticket surcharge going back to the city seems to have been a huge success for both parties. Of course, tickets for an Oilers game have skyrocketed, making them less accessible for families and young fans. Calgary has recently entered into a similar arrangement and is hoping for similar success as it replaces its ancient and crumbling Saddledome.
The Toronto Blue Jays recently spent $300 million on renovations at Rogers Centre, and as the Jays crater in the standings, ticket prices have doubled, and this is just with renovations instead of a whole new building.
Meanwhile, Ottawa fans are used to being stuck in the parking lot after games and travelling long distances in blizzards to get to the building. It’s a pain. But once you’re there, Ottawa actually has a pretty great building and affordable tickets.
This isn’t a race against the clock to survive in a crumbling arena like Calgary’s. The CTC building itself has aged very well.
Sightlines are outstanding in every seat, the audio quality is excellent, and the concourse is nice and wide. At the front entrance, lower and upper bowl fans are herded in different directions. Any able-bodied fan can easily walk a lap around the entire arena during a single intermission. The seats are comfortable, and the aisles are spaced well. A family of four can attend a Sens game for under $200.
This will not be the case with a new arena.
It’ll be designed with exterior space limitations, and tickets will be priced with recouping costs in mind. Parking will be far more limited, and roads will be jammed.
The success of a new arena will depend heavily on Ottawa public transit and light rail getting their act together, a dodgy proposition given their long history of… well, not getting their act together. Some fans like to take their vehicle everywhere and have little interest in taking a February train after the game.
Look at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, which was built with basketball and a very tight footprint in mind. The sightlines are atrocious, the bowls are steep, and the boxy design leads to poor audio quality with reverb and echo.
Fans who spend $400 for a pair of nosebleed seats near centre ice in Toronto might face a wall from the suspended luxury suites, with no view of the jumbotron and no ability to hear the sound system.
Toronto games are so expensive that the average fan has been priced out, creating a quiet hockey experience.
But at least it’s next door to Union Station, there are attractions nearby, and you can get in and out easily by Toronto traffic standards. They did succeed in their goal of cramming the building into a tiny space in downtown Toronto.
You can ask fans in New York if they would trade Madison Square Garden for a new building. Ask a Leafs or Habs fan of a certain vintage if they had a better experience at Maple Leaf Gardens or The Forum compared to their current buildings. These buildings are and were part of the historical fabric and identity of their teams, an imposing challenge for visiting teams to overcome.
What identity do Bell Centre in Montreal and Scotiabank Arena provide now?
Of course, in a vacuum, the Senators should be downtown; it would be a great win for the city and organization, but fans should also be aware of how such a move will fundamentally and permanently alter the gameday experience they’re used to. There’s much to gain, but some things will be lost, and it’s unlikely the building itself will be better than what they currently have.
A lot has to go right here and fans should be careful what they wish for.
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