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Talking to some people in Ottawa, they say the location isn't even the problem. It's just the Senators are trying to get the government to pay for a new arena near downtown.

Apparently, most Senators fans who are willing to pay for tickets actually live out in the Kanata and Barrhaven areas, so it's not really a demographics issue. If they built a downtown arena, it's less likely these people would go to a game.

However, maybe being in the downtown raises the profile to the business community more and more boxes are sold, but then again, you are talking about a city where most employers are government and corporate boxes might not look that good optically.

There isn't a huge population of residents in the downtown although some new condo projects are being built in the area of the proposed arena.

Personally, I think the team has a terrible name and logo. Who wants to cheer for a senator? Fat and corrupt politicians, yeah, that's what appeals to the masses. I know they try and turn the Senator into some warrior but I doubt that's what people associate them with. It's just not a cool sports team name and identity.