New Senators arena: the City of Ottawa will not give money

The mayor of Ottawa repeats that the City does not have the means to finance part of the construction of the new Senators arena on LeBreton Flats.

I have always said that I am not in favor of city tax dollars being used to fund a professional sports facility or event centerrecalled Mark Sutcliffe Tuesday, ten days after the signing of an agreement in principle between the National Hockey League (NHL) team and the National Capital Commission (NCC).

This protocol provides for the sale of 10 acres of land which will allow the development of an entertainment district in which a new amphitheater will be built. No timeline has been officially set by the Senators, even if their owner, Michael Andlauer, said he hopes to open in five years.

As for the team president, Cyril Leederhe said at a press conference that he did not expect taxpayers to have to pay for a new arena. According to him, it is also too early to set a total cost for the project.

No plans have yet been drawn up. Several studies must be carried out by the Senators.

Other cities elsewhere in Canada and the United States have advanced hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds over the years to give their professional sports teams new homes. In Calgary, the City will pay $537.3 million for the project of a new arena for Flamesor 44% of the $1.22 billion bill.

The remainder of the funding will be provided by the Government of Alberta (27%) and the franchise of the NHL (29 %).

We are happy to work with the Senators and the CCN to help carry out this projectclarified Mark Sutcliffe.

But I don’t think the community wants the City to write a check with taxpayers’ money to finance an arena, especially since the Municipality is facing a financial crisis and finds itself with several other priorities.

The mayor recalled that the arena project is still in its infancy. We don’t know what development will look like. No one has made a request to me or to the city councilhe said.

So we will see what it will look like [ce nouveau district]. We will then see what type of role we could play. We are always happy to chat. But it is encouraging to see that there has been agreement between the CCN and the Senators.

Several studies to come among the Senators

The CCN and the Senators have already indicated that there is still several steps to cross before taking possession of the 10 acres identified as LeBreton Plains.

The first leader of the CCNTobi Nussbaum, was questioned on this issue Tuesday during a meeting of the board of directors of the Crown corporation. He recalled that the agreement in principle provides that the owner of the team and his partners will carry out several studies in the coming months.

The Senators also plan to speak with the City of Ottawa for “planning” issues.

Mr. Nussbaum was, however, unable to determine the timelines for these studies. On the other hand, he was optimistic that a sale will be formalized at some point in 2025.

With information from Frédéric Pepin