The Ottawa Senators are doing everything they can to calm the waters as they map out a move to LeBreton Flats.
After making a deal to purchase 11 acres of land for $37 million from the National Capital Commission to build a new rink and a district around it to make the place a destination, the Senators now have ramped up the planning for what the area at LeBreton will look like.
Instead of just enjoying the fact that Senators owner Michael Andlauer and his partners are trying to do something good to help the city of Ottawa revitalize its downtown, the skeptics are all asking questions about who is going to pay for this.
That’s why Senators president Cyril Leeder, speaking to Postmedia on Media Day at the Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday, likely went out of his way to make it clear the club doesn’t expect the taxpayers of Ottawa to fund a new rink, even though they’ll get the benefits from it.
“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 get that everybody wants to raise questions and they have every right.
In the words of late legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Bob Cole, “Relax, everybody, relax.”
This arena project is good for the city, the hockey team and Canada. It will be a landmark we need in our nation’s capital and will be there for people to enjoy.
Since the deal was announced last month, much has been made of the fact that the price of a new arena in Ottawa will be north of $1 billion.
Yes, Andlauer may have just made a deal to sell his company, ATS Healthcare, to UPS for $1.6 billion US, but we can tell you he didn’t do that so he and his partners could fund the pricetag of a new arena.
It would be easy to point out here that the city is about to spend $400 million for a 5,200-seat rink and makeover at Lansdowne Park, but the land is owned by the city. The land the Senators have agreed to purchase is located in Ottawa, but is owned by the NCC.
Whether people like it or not, the city will have to play a role in the building of a new rink. They won’t be alone, either, because the expectation is that Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the provincial government also will have a role to play.
The new arena in Calgary is being built by the Flames in a partnership that includes the city and the province of Alberta.
The cost is north of $1.2 billion, which is being funded by 27% by the province, along with $537 million from the city and another $356 million from the owners of the Flames.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has stated publicly that the city isn’t willing to use taxpayer money to help fund an arena. Sutcliffe does have more vision for big projects than his predecessor, Jim Watson, did, so there is a good chance the city will find a way to lend a hand.
Leeder cited the structure used to negotiate a Public Private Partnership (P3S) with the city of Ottawa for the Bell Sensplex (Kanata), Cavanagh Sensplex (Carp) and the Richcraft Sensplex (Gloucester).
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“We’ve got to figure that out with the right kind of (P3). We’ve done it before with the Sensplexes,” Leeder said. “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.”
The city of Ottawa outlines the benefits of a P3 on its website, so I won’t delve into that here. However, let’s just say it’s a plan that makes sense for both parties.
In speaking with Andlauer since he completed the purchase of the Senators in Sept. 2023, he always has used the word “collaborative” when the subject of paying for the new rink is raised.
He’s right because everybody has to work together to make the dream of a downtown arena a reality. There will always be negative voices, but it would be a shame to see the city and the province scuttle something that would be a great addition.
The Senators and the NCC have a chance to score a huge victory for this city with a downtown rink. This needs to happen and even the naysayers know that’s the case.