Senators owner Michael Andlauer 'hopeful' for a rink deal at LeBreton Flats

Published Sep 09, 2024  •  4 minute read

Ottawa Senators’ owner Michael Andlauer is looking to the future and wants a new rink built. Photo by Julie Oliver /Postmedia Network

If you build it, they will come.

And Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer is confident his team will be able to get a lease agreement in place with the National Capital Commission to build a new rink at LeBreton Flats with a Sept. 20 deadline looming large and the clock ticking fast.

“I am hopeful (the lease will get done). But that’s just the first piece,” Andlauer told the Postmedia in a brief discussion before teeing off in the club’s charity golf tournament Monday at The Marshes in Kanata.

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“Like I said before, everybody wants it and, like I said before, it has to be on the terms of the fans. That’s all I’m asking for.”

As Postmedia reported Thursday, sources say the Senators and representatives of the NCC finally have traction in their discussions towards getting an all-important lease agreement in place.

Andlauer made a point to say he’s not looking for special treatment from the NCC or the city of Ottawa and just wants to do what’s best for the fans so that the club can take another step into building a new rink.

“I’m not asking for a discount, I’m not asking for a special privilege like others may have in the past,” Andlauer added. “All I’m asking that they do what’s fair. Ultimately, our fans are the taxpayers and they’re the ones that if they want it, then we’ve gotta (get it done).

“I’m hopeful and I’m trying to be as open and transparent as possible (about the process) and I’m asking the city and the NCC to do the same.”

Andlauer wants the Senators to be a regional team and the proximity of LeBreton Flats to Gatineau will help sell this club on the other side of the Ottawa River. Later this month, the Senators will hold their annual Black and White intra-squad game at the Slush Puppie Center in Gatineau.

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We’ve reached the 11th hour between the Senators and the NCC, which means both sides will act in their own best interests. The National Hockey League club has stated it wants a new arena on the site and the NCC signed an memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Senators in June 2022.

The two sides hoped to have a deal by last fall, but when Andlauer took over as the owner last September, he asked NCC chief executive officer Tobi Nussbaum for a one-year extension to study the MOU and to assemble a team to work with the NCC.

The NCC confirmed to Postmedia again Monday that it’s continuing discussions and is willing make changes to the MOU in an an attempt to get a deal in place to build a major events centre on the site located about 10 minutes West of Parliament Hill.

Postmedia reported Thursday that the two sides have had “give-and-take” talks that have resulted in progress. The NCC as much confirmed in this statement that’s the case.

“The NCC remains confident that providing the Ottawa Senators with the opportunity to build a downtown arena at LeBreton Flats is of tremendous value for the team, their partners and for fans,” the NCC said.

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“We continue to demonstrate flexibility and openness in our conversations with the Ottawa Senators and we are aiming to have an agreement in place by the end of the month.”

NCC officials understand that if this deal falls apart, they’ll be the ones who bear the brunt of the criticism publicly and that may be a reason why there’s more flexibility at the bargaining table.

Getting a lease agreement isn’t the final step, but we’re told both sides are working now to see what they can agree to that will allow this process to move forward. A lease agreement is just one step in a long, winding road to putting shovels in the ground.

Once it’s done, it will still have to go to the federal Canadian Heritage department and the Treasury Board for approval.

The Senators have already approached the Province of Ontario and the City of Ottawa about the possibility of working with them to help fund the project, but the first step is to get a lease in place.

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Andlauer, who met with Nussbaum and NCC officials last month to reiterate how important getting this deal done is to the Senators and the city, will meet with his development committee Tuesday at the Canadian Tire Centre and his limited partnership group.

Senators president Cyril Leeder has played a lead role in these talks with the NCC, along with Andlauer’s partners, George Armoyan and Paul Paletta, and with Shawn Malholtra of Ottawa’s Claridge Homes.

All three have a wealth of real estate experience to form the development committee that Andlauer has set up within his partnership group.

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