Senators, National Captial Commission reach agreement to build arena in LeBreton Flats

The Ottawa Senators are ready to move downtown.

On Friday, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported that the team and the National Capital Commission (NCC) have signed a lease agreement that will allow the Senators to build an arena and other amenities on LeBreton Flats.

Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan broke the news earlier in the day.

The current deadline to sign the deal was Friday.

Acquiring land was the first step. The Senators and NCC were in ongoing discussions about the size of the land that will be 10 minutes from Parliament Hill. The total area has increased to allow for more on-site parking near the arena.

Along with the rink, plans are to build a social-like district around the building to make it more accommodating for fans. Similar to what is seen at the New York Islanders’ home arena, UBS Center, and the proposed plans for the future home of the Calgary Flames, team officials want people to do more than just come to a game.

The Sens’ desire to move back to downtown Ottawa has been an ongoing saga for close to a decade. In 2016, RendezVous LeBreton Group, an organization backed by the team, was awarded development rights in the area to build a new arena. However, due to ongoing behind-the-scenes struggles between late owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development, the NCC terminated the agreement in December 2018.

However, things changed two years ago when the Senators-led Capital Sports Development Inc. won a bid to build an arena in the same area that they had tried to finalize years before.

The Senators have been playing in nearby Kanata at the Candian Tire Centre—formerly known as the Palladium, Corel Centre, and Scotiabank Place—since 1996. The issue with the arena’s placement is that it is 24 kilometers away from downtown Ottawa. The travel out to the suburbs has been a criticism of fans for a long time, which came to light during the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2016, when the team struggled to sell out home playoff games.

When this rendition of the Senators came into the NHL in 1992, they played downtown at the Ottawa Civic Centre, which currently houses the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s and the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Ottawa Charge.