Talks between Sens, NCC continue on new arena, but NCC has 'Plan B'
![A rendering of an NHL arena on LeBreton Flats A rendering of what a new Ottawa Senators arena at LeBreton Flats could look like. (Capital Sports Development Inc.)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2022/6/23/a-rendering-of-an-nhl-arena-on-lebreton-flats-1-5959848-1656019915257.png)
The head of the National Capital Commission remains optimistic that the Ottawa Senators will eventually build an arena at LeBreton Flats, but he says there is a Plan B if the hockey club decides to go elsewhere.
CEO Tobi Nussbaum said he had no major updates Thursday when speaking to reporters, but said talks between the NCC and the Senators organization continue.
"Obviously, on their side, a lot of work to do determining their needs and their financial model," he said.
Last September, the NCC gave a one-year extension to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) it had entered into with Capital Sports Development after Michael Andlauer took over ownership of the club. Nussbaum said Thursday there is "no ultimatum" for the talks, but he remains hopeful to have a deal by the fall.
"There's no question that there will be a point at which that we'll have to have a lease or not," Nussbaum said. "I can't say with 100 per cent certainty when that is. Is it September? I certainly hope so. That's our hope that we can get all the work done by then."
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
The discussion around a future arena for the Senators was revived this week when the federal budget indicated movement to dispose of unused federal properties, some of which are in downtown Ottawa. That led Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to again float the idea that an arena could be built somewhere other than LeBreton Flats, a suggestion he has raised several times before.
"Maybe we can have a new park downtown, maybe we can have other attractions downtown and, maybe, we can have a conversation about a downtown arena," Sutcliffe said Wednesday. "If the Senators are interested in exploring a downtown option, I think it would be great for the downtown core."
Nussbaum told reporters he still believes LeBreton will be the final decision.
"From the NCC's perspective, we've had two processes over the last 10 years where the team has indicated a very strong interest in siting an arena at LeBreton Flats," said Nussbaum.
Nussbaum cited the strong transit accessibility and proximity to Gatineau as major reasons why he believes the Senators are interested in LeBreton Flats, but stressed that, ultimately, it's up to the team to decide where to go.
'We have a Plan B'
Nussbaum also indicated that should the Senators decide to build a new arena somewhere else, LeBreton Flats won't sit fallow.
"Our first hope was to have a major attraction, a major event centre there, but should that not happen, there is a Plan B for those parcels within LeBreton Flats," he said. "There's a great need for housing and mixed use development in the city so, if, at some point, the two sides are not able to come to an agreement or the Senators make a decision that they're not going to build there, then yes, absolutely, we'll have to move to our second option."
Whatever happens, Nussbaum said LeBreton Flats is still going to grow.
"This is not a competition. If they change their mind, we have a Plan B. We've got a plan for mixed use development along Albert Street and we will proceed apace with the development of LeBreton Flats as a whole," he said. "LeBreton Flats is growing. It's going to become part of the downtown core. I think the distinction between LeBreton Flats and downtown is really going to disappear over the coming years."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jasper mayor says alert system to be reviewed after message 'glitch'
More than 25,000 people have been displaced from Jasper National Park since wildfires started to threaten the picturesque corner of Alberta Rockies on Monday, but the mayor of its namesake municipality says not everyone received an evacuation alert when it was sent out.