The launch of training camp is always a big deal for the Ottawa Senators and their fans.
If it’s possible, it might be an even bigger week for the team off the ice.
While Senators players have their medical testing on Wednesday and take their first official camp skates on Thursday, the club’s business titans continue to close in on a deal that could be a significant step toward getting a new arena built on LeBreton Flats land, west of Parliament Hill.
On Friday, the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the hockey club and the National Capital Commission is due to expire. The NCC is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning and conservation in Canada’s National Capital Region.
And Saturday happens to be the one-year anniversary of Michael Andlauer’s introduction as owner of the Senators, an occasion he plans to mark with a team practice in Gatineau, Que. For Andlauer, born in France and raised in Montreal by a single mom, this outreach across the Ottawa River into Gatineau is vital and indicative of a brave new world in which the Senators make their first real foray into the Outaouais region of west Quebec.
Who knows, Andlauer might have some arena news to share by then. Even if the Senators and NCC don’t reach a deal by Friday’s deadline, the two sides might be close enough that a small extension could be declared in order to complete the details on a new agreement.
Any new deal would just be the first step toward actually getting a new rink done. (Spoiler alert. The Sens and the NCC have been even further down the road than this in the past, but not with Andlauer as owner, so hope springs eternal that this time it could bear fruit).
If a new agreement is pending, it might be worth reviewing how we got to this point.
Didn’t the Sens already have this dance with the NCC?
Oh, yes. More than once, in fact. The Senators and the NCC have been like star-crossed lovers pushing the limits of an on-again, off-again relationship.
Arena trivia experts may recall the Senators were part of a larger development bid called RendezVous LeBreton that won preferred status in April of 2016 to build an arena, a library, 4,000 housing units plus other amenities on a 52-acre parcel of LeBreton land. Remember the fancy site plans and arena models? The Senators, led by then-owner Eugene Melnyk, were partnered with John Ruddy’s Trinity Developments. Early in 2018, a more detailed agreement was in place to green-light LeBreton. Later in 2018 the entire project fell apart in a spate of lawsuits between Melnyk and Ruddy.
Why is the current land allotment for an arena so much smaller now?
When the larger-scale RendezVous LeBreton project imploded, the NCC opted to develop LeBreton on a piecemeal basis, getting a new library and other housing projects established while leaving a section for a “major event centre” if a deal could be reached for an arena in the future. A seven-acre parcel was set aside, on Albert Street between Preston and City Centre Avenue. One of the items under negotiation is the size of the site – the Senators want enough room to be able to develop a fan-friendly area near any future arena. NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum has said there is flexibility here on the size of the parcel.
What is the existing Memorandum of Understanding?
As he did with all aspects of the Senators business, Andlauer inherited this current MOU. He basically bought the team and assumed control last fall right around the time the current MOU – signed in June of 2022 – was set to expire. And so the NCC granted the Senators a one-year extension to this Friday. More history. Melnyk died in March of 2022. It was the club’s board of directors that signed off on that summer, 2022 deal. And an ensuing lease agreement was supposed to be worked out within a year. That didn’t happen and it made sense, once the team went up for sale, that this arena project would have to wait for approval by the new owner.
Andlauer, by the way, has said the current MOU is “not friendly” to the Senators. His business people, including Senators alternate governors George Armoyan and Paul Paletta, plus Shawn Malholtra of Claridge Homes, are hammering out the details of a new “understanding” with the NCC.
Who would pay for the arena?
Now, there is the $64,000 question, if only $64k went very far on an arena project. Andlauer has said a new NHL rink would cost about $900 million and would require the co-operation of all three levels of government, with the hockey club paying its fair share. Whatever that might be. The Senators love the arena district setup around Rogers Place in Edmonton. Calgary also has a new deal in place to replace the existing Scotiabank Saddledome. Before you go tying Ottawa’s plan to those models, consider this: Both the Oilers and Flames play in community-owned arenas. Both received massive amounts of city money because they are city venues. In contrast, the Senators play in a private arena and are very likely going to be building a private arena, albeit with an NCC lease.
How much will the federal, provincial and municipal governments contribute to this project? That remains to be seen. But Mark Sutcliffe, Ottawa’s mayor, is on the record as saying there won’t be a lot of city money involved, if any, for a new rink. He has said there could be other ways the city can help.
“We’re ready to work with the Senators and the National Capital Commission if they strike a deal,” Sutcliffe told Sportsnet.ca on Monday. “I’m excited about the prospect of the Senators being closer to downtown and I think it has the potential to be a win for everyone in the city but . . . we’ll see how this plays out.”
The mayor has often said he prefers a new arena right downtown, not on the fringe of downtown like LeBreton. To date, there have been no serious discussions between the city and the hockey club on arena financing.
On a scale of 1-10, what level of excitement should fans have that a new arena gets done at LeBreton?
Maybe a 6 or 7? One source compared this pending agreement to a conditional offer to buy a house. It doesn’t guarantee anything. It is a step toward a new rink. It will be conditional on financing. And if it were to fall apart the way that other LeBreton ventures have collapsed, then the floor opens up to different sites and other deals. I do believe this. Having new ownership in place with a dire need to replace the 28-year-old Canadian Tire Centre rink in Kanata, a new arena WILL get built somewhere, eventually. And if a new agreement with the NCC is in place to develop on LeBreton Flats, it does mean LeBreton has the inside track. It would then be the best bet for a future venue.
Who pays for the arena? Who is responsible for removing the contaminated waste on the site? (there seems to have been progress on this front). The interests of Canada’s First Nations will also be front and centre as the prospective site is on unceded Algonquin land. The NCC considers Algonquin Nation a key partner in any development initiative at LeBreton.
So, lots still to do. News this week could kick-start something positive.
As a side note, a new arena at LeBreton wouldn’t just be close to existing and future Ottawa LRT hubs. It would also be closer to Gatineau residents, an important feature for the Senators owner.