News Article: Lebreton...UPDATE - Agreement made with NCC.

[Masked]

If you think that there is a lack of parking options, I do question whether you’ve ever been down here.

Are you slow? I've never claimed anything about parking options downtown and you are literally replying to a post where I said I've never been to downtown.

 

[PlayersLtd]

Well the problem with Sutcliffes “vision” is that the city doesn’t control any of the desired locations in the “core”. DND isn’t getting out of that building anytime soon. Demolishing L’Esplanade Laurier, or any other building housing federal government employees for that matter, is a pipe dream. And Confederation park is NCC and that wouldn’t happen in a million years.

What options does he have? Bayview, which sure can have more parking, but is equally as challenging from a traffic perspective as Lebreton, but even further from the core. The baseball stadium… which, same thing but even worse considering you can’t walk anywhere.

And then you have Tunneys, Trainyards, etc which are just bad options if you want an “entertainment district”.

So if you want more parking plus a new district around the rink, where are you finding the acreage in the core? There are zero options bigger than the available land at Lebreton, as it’s currently divided, and even that is too small according to Leeder and Bettman.

I’ve yet to hear a realistic option voiced by Sutcliffe. It’s just high level “closer to the core” nonsense. Par for the course for a guy who talks a lot but does little. It’s worse than the NCC’s stupidity.

What’s the move? I suppose he could tear down City Hall and build it there!

And in terms of “neglecting the suburbs”, I never said that. But we have 30 years of proof of what it’s like catering to the suburbs. And guess what, it’s been pretty bad. Obviously this is not just due to where the rink is, but we’ve had consistent ups and downs with attendance and it can’t be argued that going to an NHL game in Ottawa is among the worst experiences in the league.

I work at a tech company in the core and it’s hard for us to get people to come to the box we own (it’s a small group over and over) because the young employees with lots of disposable income that we have aren’t all that excited about going for a night out in Kanata.

So maybe we should cater to the core neighborhoods (plus Gatineau) and see how that goes. If we see 13k crowds and ticket drives because the team is going bankrupt since there’s not enough onsite parking, we can move it back to Kanata or Barrhaven in 30 years.

The only realistic option is getting the NCC to open up a slightly bigger parcel at Lebreton for the rink (and I would bet that happens).

If it doesn’t happen, the team is staying at the CTC for the next 10+ years. And if that’s what it comes to, Andlauer will be shaming fans in the media for not going to games in no time, just like our past owners have done. But there’ll be ample parking!

Also, the benefit of a Lebreton rink is you’d never have 20k people coming and going at the same time, which is what happens in Kanata, because there’s nothing else to do but get there at 7 and leave at 930.

I feel like you've started arguing against yourself. On one hand advocating for an arena in the core, on the other saying it's never going to happen because Sutcliffe doesnt have a hand to play.

Anyway, one of the most fascinating things for me is to look at how cities change over time and gentrify. Previously run down working class or industrial areas, or derelict parts of downtown becoming popular and reinventing themselves decades later while maintaining some of their history and character is porn for planners and anyone interested in urban revitalization.

If you focus only on your definition of the core you're going to miss out on some really neat opportunities. Right downtown would be great but so too would other areas located on the periphery, assuming proper access and some existing character and infrastructure. Put an entertainment district in Hintonberg for example and watch a Bank St / Glebe on steroids emerge.

Also think of how much more bang for your buck you can get working outside of the core where the engineering is typically less complex and there is more opportunity for complimentary developments.

One way or another, as long as Andlauer gets a willing partner I'm sure were going to get something awesome.

 

[JimmySpaetzle]

Well today is the day we get some sort of announcement!

 

[JimmySpaetzle]

And just like that:

 

[Silencio]

"We're not leaving!"

 

[BigRig4]

Tomorrow is one year to the day Andlauer took over the team, and has already landed a new stadium. Pretty tidy work.

 

[coladin]

I’ll believe it when I see a shovel hit the ground, or more like a backhoe

 

[PlayersLtd]

I'll be really curious to see the lease terms and cost sharing. That's a big asset to be investing in that you won't own at the end of the day or be able to leverage against.

 

[DackellDuck]

I'll be really curious to see the lease terms and cost sharing. That's a big asset to be investing in that you won't own at the end of the day or be able to leverage against.

I believe the city of Edmonton owns the Oilers new arena, and the city of Calgary will own the Flames new arena too, no?

I think that's the reality for these small market Canadian owners who can't, or don't want to, pay for their own new buildings. And if taxpayers are footing much of the bill, they should be the owners of them.

You could be like Steve Ballmer in LA and pay for everything yourself, but if you go to government trying to get sweetheart deals on land and taxpayer dollars to cover construction costs, don't expect to "own" the building you didn't pay for.

I doubt we see open doors for another 6-8 years, but hopefully this project can serve as a boon for the downtown core and something the people of Ottawa can be proud of. It's an investment in the city as much as it is an investment in the team.

 

[Dan Patrick]

Is it finally happening?

I’ve dashed my hopes against the rocks of the Lebretton Flats for so long that I think my only chance is to wait until they are pouring foundation.

 

[GCK]

I would imagine there will be a hotel, restaurants and parking. I’m curious about additional land for condo development to help fund the rink.

 

[RandR]

I'll be really curious to see the lease terms and cost sharing. That's a big asset to be investing in that you won't own at the end of the day or be able to leverage against.

That will be interesting. What I wonder about most is what Andlauer is going to say about financing of the arena itself, which I suspect is still the biggest hurdle before any shovels hit the ground.

 

[OUT HOUSE]

My future home depends on the location.

 

[GCK]

I'll be really curious to see the lease terms and cost sharing. That's a big asset to be investing in that you won't own at the end of the day or be able to leverage against.

Likely a 99 year lease, Andlauer covers remediation which is deducted from the cost.

Probably at least another year to finalize the deal and then planning approval after that.

 

[Golden_Jet]

What do you think people do during Bluesfest, which brings 30k people to a field at Lebreton?

They close the nearest LRT stations

 

[branch]

This is so deserved. The team needs this. Hope the NCC can get out of the way ASAP

 

[Masked]

Third time's the charm, right?

 

[DackellDuck]

Great news for the team and city. Lebreton will be a great location. While not perfect, it's the best available and the potential of turning that area into a destination is very exciting.

I know people will be skeptical because of what's taken place here, but let's be real... Andlauer and Leeder are now running the show, not a certain someone.

They've got their shit together so if an announcement is being made, this is finally happening.

 

[JimmySpaetzle]

Interesting… JR from TSN 1200 saying the NCC may actually let the Sens buy the land for the new arena

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Ottawa Senators, National Capital Commission reach agreement for new arena at LeBreton Flats

The Ottawa Senators are a step closer to making their dream of a downtown arena a reality.

ottawacitizen.com

League sources confirmed to the Ottawa Citizen that the Senators and the National Capital Commission have reached the next stage to build a new rink at LeBreton Flats after the two sides signed a lease agreement on the land located 10 minutes West of Parliament Hill.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837142362407031239

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837139948962492621

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

I don't think this is the right move. They have to think about the season ticket holder base in Carp.

 

[DackellDuck]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837143965335765422

Great news, the folks from Stittsville should be able to get into the building without stepping onto a downtown sidewalk.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837143965335765422

You see how easy it is from Andlauer and Leeder to get this done in under a year. It makes you feel bad for Melnyk and all the politics that must have conspired against him.