Here’s what comes next now that the Ottawa Senators have completed the land purchase

The Ottawa Senators have now completed their arena deal with the National Capital Commission (NCC). After years of discussion, rumours, and talk about bringing the team to downtown Ottawa, a deal has finally been secured.

The deal secures the 11-acre plot of land in LeBreton Flats from the NCC not far from Parliament Hill. It will replace the current home of the Senators, the Canadian Tire Centre located in Kanata, Ontario. The arena is located approximately 30–40 minutes from downtown Ottawa. Making the trip to the arena an inconvenience for Sens fans.

Senators team president and CEO Cyril Leeder said in a statement released by the team. “We are pleased to reach an agreement of purchase and sale with the NCC to take the next step in this process. There are still many more hurdles to clear, and we look forward to working with the NCC and other stakeholders to achieve our shared vision of creating an event centre at LeBreton Flats that can be enjoyed by our Ottawa-Gatineau community.”

What we know of the agreement

We don’t know the exact details of the agreement, but Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported that the deal is “just north of $$30M”. It is expected that the NCC would’ve implemented for the land. This includes the arena as well as 2,000 new housing units and new commercial and retail spaces.

Timetable for the arena

While the fans can look forward to the prospect of a new arena, they shouldn’t get their hopes up. Once groundbreaking starts, it will take years before the team can play in the new rink. Before groundbreaking, there are still a bunch of hoops that owner Michael Andlauer must jump through.

As mentioned in our previous article on the situation, the soil on the land is contaminated. A remediation process must take place beforehand. We don’t know which side will be paying for remediation, but we know that it was apart of the negotiation process. The land in LeBreton Flats is also the centre of Indigenous land claim disputes.

Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe has publicly stated that the city will not be providing money to help pay for the arena. Andlauer did recently sell his Andlauer Health group for $2.2B CAD, however he will almost certainly still look for outside help in paying for the arena. Whether Ottawa decides to revert and provide financial help or the provincial government similar to the situations in both Edmonton and Calgary, remains to be seen.

Design inspiration

Quebec City’s Vidéotron Centre has been seen as potential source for inspiration. More arenas that are rumoured to be used as inspiration are the aforementioned Rogers Place in Edmonton, UBS Arena on Long Island, and Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. The team will be looking to build a state-of-the-art venue to go along with their progressing young core.

What to expect next?

Looking at the arena project in Calgary and others across the NHL, there are a lot of steps still before shovels will go in the ground and the arena will finally be built. That said, there is a lot to be excited about, and finally to know that the arena will be built in Ottawa in an area that is accessible for fans beyond Kanata is a big win for everyone.