Senators' proposed arena must be ‘collaborative effort,’ Bettman says

OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators’ proposed NHL arena at LeBreton Flats could lead to a “revitalization of Ottawa downtown,” but it must be a “collaborative effort,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.

The Commissioner and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly toured the site located 1.24 miles southwest of Parliament Hill alongside Senators owner Michael Andlauer, team President and CEO Cyril Leeder, and National Capital Commission CEO Tobi Nussbaum. The group also met with Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe in his office prior to the tour.

On Sept. 20, the Senators and NCC announced they had reached an agreement in principle that would allow Capital Sports Development Inc., the parent company of the hockey club, to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats. The Senators expect to own the land by sometime in 2025.

“I think moving the team downtown will be great for fans,” Commissioner Bettman said before Ottawa hosted the Edmonton Oilers at Canadian Tire Centre. “I think it’ll be great for surrounding businesses and it’ll be great for building utilization because this building, because it’s out here (in Kanata), probably doesn’t get as many events as it would get if it was more proximately located, and so instead of having 75 events, if there are 150, that breeds a whole economy -- shopping, restaurants, bars, around the arena or in walking distance to the arena.

“I mean, just take a look at what the economies of Taylor Swift concerts do to the place they go. And I actually think that if you get more shows and events, you get more tourism, as well. It all flows together.”

Efforts in years past to move the team downtown all failed, but the Commissioner acknowledges this time should be different.

“I mean, obviously, I think (late owner) Eugene Melnyk deserves a lot of credit for bailing this franchise out when it was in a difficult time,” Commissioner Bettman said, “but in the final analysis, he kept it here, was invested in it and in the community. And Michael Andlauer is going to take what was started and take it to the next level. So, different ownership, but with the explanation that it’s not all good or all bad -- it’s the fact that this is an evolution and the next step.”

In past iterations of a downtown arena proposal at LeBreton Flats, the Commissioner had voiced reservations about the size of the parcel of land. The new agreement includes over 10 acres for the arena, plans for an entertainment district around the rink, 6,000 new housing units, and addresses concerns about on-site parking.

“Based on walking the property today with the representatives of the NCC, yeah, listen, I’m not an architect and I’m not an urban planner, but it looked OK to me,” Commissioner Bettman said.

While municipal tax dollars have recently been used to build arenas in some parts of Canada -- the city of Edmonton and the city of Calgary each put funds toward new arenas in the past decade -- the Senators have said they expect the project to be funded privately.

“Nobody should get too far ahead of themselves,” the Commissioner said. “There are a lot of things that have to come together to make this work. And nobody, again, should jump ahead and presume it requires any one additional thing. People are going to speculate, ‘Well, what does it mean? What does it mean for taxpayers?’ Don’t go there yet. There are too many things that have to come together before anybody should draw any conclusions whatsoever. The only reason that I raise that is because I know it’s a hot button (issue).”

Since 1996, the Senators have played their home games at the CTC, formerly known as The Palladium (January 1996), Corel Centre (1996-2006) and Scotiabank Place (2006-13), located in Kanata, a suburb about 17 miles west of Parliament Hill. Commissioner Bettman acknowledges there is a general consensus in Ottawa that the team should play downtown, but everyone, the organization, the city, the league and fans, must pull on the same rope, together.

“It’s one step at a time,” the Commissioner said. “This isn’t a 60-minute game. This isn’t going to happen overnight. It’s going to take a little time, but in the interim, and if it doesn’t work out, there’s this building. And it may not be everybody’s first choice in terms of location, but it works.”