GARRIOCH: One small step in the right direction for Senators, NCC at LeBreton Flats

Published Sep 20, 2024  •  4 minute read

Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer Photo by Julie Oliver /POSTMEDIA

A step in the right direction.

That’s the best way to look at the announcement by the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission to come to purchase a 10-acre piece of land at LeBreton Flats at Friday’s deadline to make a deal.

The decision by Senators’ owner Michael Andlauer and his partners to reach a deal with the NCC a year after he purchased the club from the estate of the late Eugene Melnyk is necessary if Ottawa is to have any chance of having a new arena near the downtown core.

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“It’s very encouraging to hear about this big step forward,” Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe wrote on his X account Friday after the news announced. “I’m looking forward to hearing more about this potentially very exciting economic opportunity for Ottawa.”

The reality is when push came to shove, both sides acted in their own best interests. The Senators know they have a better opportunity to thrive closer to the downtown core and NCC chief executive officer Tobi Nussbaum is well aware a rink is the centrepiece that LeBreton Flats needs.

The two sides only came to an agreement late Thursday night because neither wanted to extend past the Friday deadline.

“Like a lot of tough negotiations usually a deadline kind of helps you focus your mind and today’s deadline was helpful and it helped us get to a solution,” said Senators’ chief executive officer Cyril Leeder at a news conference at the Canadian Tire Centre.

This isn’t a done deal by any stretch of the imagination. We’ve actually been here before and that attempt fell through. Melnyk and his partner John Ruddy of Trinity Developments signed a lease in 2018 with the NCC for the redevelopment of much of the LeBreton site that ended in lawsuits.

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The size, and the scope of this project, is much smaller, which gives it a better opportunity of actually happening.

“It’s different for a whole bunch of different reasons,” Leeder said. “We’re in a position now where everybody wants this to happen. The team wants this to happen, (Nussbaum) and his team want this to happen, and the community wants this to happen.

“We really are at a point where having an arena downtown is going to be great for the Senators, we firmly believe that for downtown Ottawa/Gatineau. It’s going to be great for the city as well. The stars are aligned now and the timing is good.”

Throughout this process, Postmedia has reported there were several hurdles for both sides to work through, not the least which was the fact the original memorandum of understanding only called for about seven acres of land. The Senators will purchase a little more than 10 acres.

Owning the land was a key element for Andlauer and his partners.

“I’ve been through his before, I’ve done a number of real estate projects, and nothing was more complicated than trying to build an arena when we built the (CTC) in 1994,” Leeder said. “It’s already a very difficult, complex project and layering in doing it on leased land makes it even more complex.

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“We really felt in order for us to do all this work we’re talking about, to make this effort to get this done, we really needed to have a site that we owned. It will reduce the amount of complexity in already complex progress.”

Since taking over the franchise, Andlauer has tried to do a better job of making the Senators a regional team. The Senators will scrimmage Saturday at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau as part of a community outreach program to the fans on the Quebec side.

“It’s exciting,” said alternate captain Thomas Chabot of the arena news. “It’s a positive announcement. It’s just great. It’s been awesome to play in this building every single day, but bringing it downtown brings everybody closer and to the Gatineau side. That will bring in more people.

“Hopefully, it’s very positive for the team and organization.”

A rink at LeBreton will bring the club closer to Gatineau and the Senators are confident they’ll draw more people from both sides of the Ottawa River.

“He’s been really big on bringing in that side,” Chabot said. “Every time (Andlauer) speaks, he does a part in french as well. We’ve gotten away from that the last couple of years and bringing in the Gatineau side, it brings the community even closer.

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“That’s a bonus for us as players. It brings us closer to the community.”

If anybody tells you they know when Opening Night at the new rink will take place they’re guessing. There are so many hurdles to be cleared before the Senators close up shop in Kanata and move downtown.

My guess is we’re looking at six or seven years before we see a new rink completed because I know you’re going to ask next time you see me.

This is exciting news for the NCC, the Senators and their fans.

“The major events centre and arena district will bring life and excitement to LeBreton Flats,” Nussbaum said.

He’s right and getting to this point has been several years in the making.

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