It’s one step at a time for the Ottawa Senators. Read MoreLeeder says the club has no expectations to have taxpayers cough up money for a new rink but is interested in a Public Private Partnership
Leeder says the club has no expectations to have taxpayers cough up money for a new rink but is interested in a Public Private Partnership
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It’s one step at a time for the Ottawa Senators.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The location is on Albert Street, between Preston and City Centre Ave.
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“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.
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“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.
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“You couldn’t really do that in earnest until you knew you had the site.”
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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.
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“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.
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“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.”
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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.”
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