It’s one step at a time for the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators made a significant move towards building a new arena last month when they reached an agreement for the purchase and sale of land parcels totalling approximately 11 acres at LeBreton Flats from the National Capital Commission.
Sources told Postmedia that the Senators have agreed to pay $37 million for the land, which is located just 10 minutes West of Parliament Hill. The news represented a significant, necessary step, but now the organization has some heavy lifting to do to make it a reality.
Cyril Leeder, the club’s chief executive officer and president, told Postmedia in a one-on-one interview on Media Day at the Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday that there was urgency to get this agreement signed to see if the dream of a rink at LeBreton can be a reality.
The location is on Albert Street, between Preston and City Centre Ave.
“It’s a credit to both sides because everybody made themselves available,” Leeder said. “When people were away, they took calls, and technology helped us. The people at the NCC accommodated that because they knew there was some urgency to get this done.
“We were working with them to acquire the site. Now we’ve got to plan a development and plan an arena. That allows us to move from that acquisition phase into what it is going to look like and what the plans are going to look like.
“You couldn’t really do that in earnest until you knew you had the site.”
The Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission announced that they have reached an agreement for the purchase and sale of land parcels totalling approximately 11 acres at LeBreton Flats.
He stated that the organization had two other locations on its radar screen and push had to come to shove with the NCC to see if both sides could get this across the finish line so that the club could get serious about its plans for a new rink.
“We were considering other sites because it was taking so long,” Leeder said. “We had two or three sites on the go. You can’t have architects, engineers and guys doing soil testing and rink siting at each different location. You had to make your deal or not.
“It came together in the summer, but we’re happy it came together and we’re moving forward with what it’s going to look like. We’re in the planning phase right now.”
The Senators have been examining concepts internally, but they hope to unveil their intentions for the site to the public before the end of the calendar year. Leeder can’t predict when the club will put shovels in the ground because the organization “isn’t there yet.”
The club is trying to find out whether it’s realistic to have a community rink attached to the events centre, which could also serve as a practice facility for the Senators. There is a hope that there will be an Ice District with bars and restaurants, along with a hotel, plus housing.
“Is there a community rink? A hotel? Office buildings? Housing? What does the connection to the LRT look like? What are the public spaces, community spaces and public realm?” Leeder rhetorically asked.
“Those are questions that we’ve got to answer. We’re now able to get into that work, and that work has started.”
The good people of Ottawa want to know how owner Michael Andlauer and his partners plan to pay for a rink that will exceed the $1-billion mark.
Leeder said that Andlauer and the Senators have no desire to have the taxpayers fund a new arena. They understand there’s no appetite for that to happen, but they do believe there is room for negotiation with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe about possible scenarios.
Leeder again cited the structure used to negotiate a Public Private Partnership (P3S) for the Bell Sensplex and the Richcraft Sensplex.
“The taxpayer is not going to increase their taxes and write cheques for this,” Leeder said. “That’s not the kind of support we’ve been talking about. We need to find a way to make it work that works for everybody involved — us included.
“We can’t go down there and be in a worse situation than we are now, but we’re not expecting to have a taxpayer-funded facility. We’ve got to figure that out with the right kind of (P3). We’ve done it before with the Sensplexes.
Related
“We couldn’t have done it without the city, but the taxpayer didn’t put any money into those. The city was a big part of those and made it happen. They figured it out in Calgary and in Edmonton. We’ve just got to find a model that works here.”
The city also wants to find out what the plan is for the 75 acres where the Canadian Tire Centre sits because it will be either sold or redeveloped by the Senators.
“We don’t have a plan yet,” Leeder said. “We need to have full consideration because that’s going to be part of the final solution. What are we doing downtown, and what are we doing here?
“It’s too important. Kanata has been good to us. I know it’s important to the people who live here, the politicians and the councillors.
“What are we doing at this site if we move downtown? We will have a plan and a solution.”