[News] Sens acquire land for new arena

[sureLoss]

https://ottawacitizen.com/ottawa-sen...lebreton-flats

The Ottawa Senators are a step closer to making their dream of a downtown arena a reality.

League sources confirmed to Postmedia that the Senators and the National Capital Commission have reached the next stage to build a new rink at LeBreton Flats after the two sides signed a lease agreement on the land located 10 minutes West of Parliament Hill.

The Senators will hold a news conference Friday afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre to confirm the agreement. The deal came together at the 11th hour with neither side wanting to extend the discussions past Friday’s deadline for a memorandum of understanding to expire.

Yes, this is a historic day for the Senators and the NCC, but be cautioned this is only the first step for Michael Andlauer, who will celebrate his first anniversary as the club’s owner on Saturday. There still is a lot of work ahead before the Senators can even think about putting shovels in the ground.

The deal will also include plans for a district around the rink.

[Parallex]

[Jordan!]

Just move The Sens to Quebec City

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

Just move The Sens to Quebec City

Depending on what the crowd sizes are in Calgary over the next couple years it might be easier to say just move the Flames to Quebec City. Suspect the Sens get more fans when they get a new arena that is not a 45 minute drive from Ottawa. Where the arena is now would be like putting the Saddledome in Crossfield.

[Party Elephant]

That's a great location. Way better than out in the boonies as is the case currently.

[liamenator]

This is a big step. It's never got to the point of an actual lease agreement before. It's a win for the Sens for obvious reasons, but also for the NCC, which would not have wanted its preferred bidder to walk away after several years of negotiations only to build down the road (city land at Bayshore Yards was floated by the mayor as a possibility)

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

Just move The Sens to Quebec City

Why?

Just move Jordan! to Utah.

[getbak]

Official announcement: https://www.nhl.com/senators/news/ncc-announcement

Looks like there's a still a lot of work to be done before they actually build something.

[FlamesAddiction]

I can see this being dragged out for quite a while still. I think they want it to happen and didn't want to start from scratch in the future, so while this is a positive sign, I don't think it speeds things up.

From what I heard, the land is pretty contaminated and the city agreed to scale back their requirements, but they still have to meet the provincial requirements. They also need to consult with the local First Nations on the project. It's a location of cultural and archaeological significance.

[liamenator]

Also of note: this agreement is to purchase rather than lease the land. That's a pretty big W for the Sens as I don't recall an outright sale ever being on the table previously.

[liamenator]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I can see this being dragged out for quite a while still. I think they want it to happen and didn't want to start from scratch in the future, so while this is a positive sign, I don't think it speeds things up.

From what I heard, the land is pretty contaminated and the city agreed to scale back their requirements, but they still have to meet the provincial requirements. They also need to consult with the local First Nations on the project. It's a location of cultural and archaeological significance.

For sure, lots of hurdles remain. One thing working in the Sens favour is that the Zibi development, just east along the river, is a tangible example of a development successfully navigating the consultation and approval process across multiple First Nations and layers of government. That site was even more fraught -- it sits next to Chaudière Falls, arguably the most culturally and historically significant FN site in the area, and also straddles the Ontario-Quebec border. I wouldn't be surprised to see people who worked on that project slide over to help the Sens shepherd this through.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Depending on what the crowd sizes are in Calgary over the next couple years it might be easier to say just move the Flames to Quebec City. Suspect the Sens get more fans when they get a new arena that is not a 45 minute drive from Ottawa. Where the arena is now would be like putting the Saddledome in Crossfield.

Everything you say is some weird shot at the Flames...plus go look at a map. This new land is within 15 miles of the current arena. Crossfield and Kanata are also just a tad different.

[kobasew19]

Living here in Ottawa this is long overdue!

[Jaydee]

so which of the two new arenas will be nicer?

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by liamenator

Also of note: this agreement is to purchase rather than lease the land. That's a pretty big W for the Sens as I don't recall an outright sale ever being on the table previously.

Knowing Andlauer personally, he likes to own property not lease it.

[All In Good Time]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Everything you say is some weird shot at the Flames...plus go look at a map. This new land is within 15 miles of the current arena. Crossfield and Kanata are also just a tad different.

Weird shot? I don’t know about this one. There is a really good chance that over the next 6 years or so that attendance will really suffer here and there will be those who question the strength of the franchise.

[bluejays]

I haven't read anything about the look of the proposed arena, but some outlets are using an image and it looks really nice from the outside.

[robertsfanatic]

Originally Posted by All In Good Time

Weird shot? I don’t know about this one. There is a really good chance that over the next 6 years or so that attendance will really suffer here and there will be those who question the strength of the franchise.

first off, great news as going to games in Ottawa was a pain.

secondly, maybe the next couple of years the attendance suffers but as the team improves and with the new arena bump there is no way it lasts that long.

we'll be putting up banners in the first year or so of the new building!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by All In Good Time

Weird shot? I don’t know about this one. There is a really good chance that over the next 6 years or so that attendance will really suffer here and there will be those who question the strength of the franchise.

Is anyone discussing the strength of the ANA, SJS or CHI franchises?

Did anyone doubt the strength of the EDM franchise, during the Decade of Darkness? Or the VAN franchise, during seemingly perpetual ineptitude?

It is safe to say that attendance will dip during the rebuild, but suggesting the survivability of the franchise will be questioned, is an entirely different matter.

The new arena will be open in 3 years. And it will be full. Absolutely no question about it.

[All In Good Time]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Is anyone discussing the strength of the ANA, SJS or CHI franchises?

Did anyone doubt the strength of the EDM franchise, during the Decade of Darkness? Or the VAN franchise, during seemingly perpetual ineptitude?

It is safe to say that attendance will dip during the rebuild, but suggesting the survivability of the franchise will be questioned, is an entirely different matter.

The new arena will be open in 3 years. And it will be full. Absolutely no question about it.

All i said is there will be some who question the strength of the franchise when attendance drops. I was responding to the poster who claimed that it was a weird shot at the flames for suggesting that. I just didn't think it was outlandish to suggest that there will be those who bring it up.