News Article: Ottawa Senators Organization Actively Considering Building Arena At Lebreton Flats

[Sens Mile]

http://ottawacitizen.com/sports/hockey/nhl/1210-sens-lebreton

While the Senators believe an NHL arena at LeBreton could drive economic development in the core, as well as serve as an “architectural anchor” for the development, they underlined that they “feel very strongly that this could only be possible with strong community support. - Good old Euge with the dollars, he would have to sell the CTC and reallocate the money towards this plan before a dollar of subsidized money is spent. This is going to be horrible.

Then there’s the fact the bidding process is expected to be quite competitive. Applications were due by Dec. 5, but the NCC extended the deadline to Jan. 7, 2015 “due to a greater expression of interest than expected.”


The Canadian Tire Center is fine to house NHL hockey, I hate this idea. That being said I want this team to spend and be profitable in order to compete, if it helps then that is a positive

Get ready for relocation talk in 3.....2.....1

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[Quo]

Well this is wonderful to have confirmed. Let's see if there's more meat.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

CTC won't last forever. If they're making plans for 15-20 years down the road opening a new arena downtown, then now is the time to start planning.

 

[BonkTastic]

he would have to sell the CTC and reallocate the money towards this plan before a dollar of subsidized money is spent.

Who would buy an NHL arena in the middle of Kanata when one is being built in the downtown core? How much can you realistically expect to sell it for if there is no NHL team that comes with it as an anchor tenant?

What use is a 2nd NHL-sized arena in a city that has a more centrally located, newer arena? It's not like you can put it on a truck and move it to Hamilton or anything.

 

[GSG1165]

This would be amazing. Don't want to hear from the Kanata residents.

Will bring in way more people from public transit/walking, but that needs to be planned carefully. Easy access from Gatineau and the core.

 

[Sens Mile]

CTC won't last forever. If they're making plans for 15-20 years down the road opening a new arena downtown, then now is the time to start planning.

I get the impression this would be a ten year thing, if that

 

[Sensored]

http://ottawacitizen.com/sports/hockey/nhl/1210-sens-lebreton

While the Senators believe an NHL arena at LeBreton could drive economic development in the core, as well as serve as an “architectural anchor†for the development, they underlined that they “feel very strongly that this could only be possible with strong community support. - Good old Euge with the dollars, he would have to sell the CTC and reallocate the money towards this plan before a dollar of subsidized money is spent. This is going to be horrible.


The Canadian Tire Center is fine to house NHL hockey, I hate this idea. That being said I want this team to spend and be profitable in order to compete, if it helps then that is a positive

"Canadian Tire Center is fine"

Youre kidding right. It's in the middle of nowhere so its inaccessible for tourists. You cant drink when you attend a game because you have to drive afterwards. You have to pay $13 for parking and it takes at least an hour to get there and i live on Elgin.

Please please move it downtown. Its a joke and an embarrassment that Ottawa s major entertainment center is 45 minutes from downtown. Someone start a petition.

 

[Quo]

Who would buy an NHL arena in the middle of Kanata when one is being built in the downtown core? How much can you realistically expect to sell it for if there is no NHL team that comes with it as an anchor tenant?

What use is a 2nd NHL-sized arena in a city that has a more centrally located, newer arena? It's not like you can put it on a truck and move it to Hamilton or anything.

No option to turn it into something else? A mall perhaps? We have a thread for this where many of these things were spitballed.

 

[Sens Mile]

This would be amazing. Don't want to hear from the Kanata residents.

Will bring in way more people from public transit/walking, but that needs to be planned carefully. Easy access from Gatineau and the core.

Im all for it, my parents are from Stittsville, guarantee they would never go to a game again, lazy buggers

 

[BonkTastic]

Its a joke and an embarrassment that Ottawa s major entertainment center is 45 minutes from downtown. Someone start a petition.

Calm down, jeez.

It's neither of those things. It's a product of the circumstances that got us an NHL team in the first place.

A Lebreton-based arena would be a nice improvement, but "embarrassment"... c'mon now.

 

[Sens Mile]

"Canadian Tire Center is fine"

Youre kidding right. It's in the middle of nowhere so its inaccessible for tourists. You cant drink when you attend a game because you have to drive afterwards. You have to pay $13 for parking and it takes at least an hour to get there and i live on Elgin.

Please please move it downtown. Its a joke and an embarrassment that Ottawa s major entertainment center is 45 minutes from downtown. Someone start a petition.

Its more about the subsidization that worries me

 

[BonkTastic]

No option to turn it into something else? A mall perhaps? We have a thread for this where many of these things were spitballed.

Oh yeah, I totally get that there are lots of uses for an old stadium, but in selling it and expecting the new owners to retrofit it for another use, you'll be selling it for pennies on the dollar. You're selling a big empty building at that point, not an NHL arena with an anchor tenant.

My whole point was "how much can one reasonably expect to sell it for?", all things considered. Selling SPB/CTC won't go very far in raising money for a new arena.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Who would buy an NHL arena in the middle of Kanata when one is being built in the downtown core? How much can you realistically expect to sell it for if there is no NHL team that comes with it as an anchor tenant?

What use is a 2nd NHL-sized arena in a city that has a more centrally located, newer arena? It's not like you can put it on a truck and move it to Hamilton or anything.

CTC + the parking lot + the land around it might just be the perfect size for the new Science & Tech Museum.

Might help grease the wheels a lot of there's something coming back tot eh city if it helps out Scrooge with the financials of a new arena.

 

[Sens Mile]

Oh yeah, I totally get that there are lots of uses for an old stadium, but in selling it and expecting the new owners to retrofit it for another use, you'll be selling it for pennies on the dollar.

My whole point was "how much can one reasonably expect to sell it for", all things considered. Selling SPB/CTC won't go very far in raising money for a new arena.

If Melnyk wants the arena fully subsidized, then it may be a huge issue. Guarantee he wants 100% subsidization and a claim he will take profits from selling CTC and reallocate it to privately building a casino downtown

 

[Dick Whitman]

The CTC land alone is probably worth 10's of millions of dollars. Minto could be an entire community on CTC land. And as others have mentioned, the CTC could be turned into a shopping mall. Ottawa is short on retail space so it makes some sense.

Besides, if the NCC plays ball, the Sens should get a solid deal.

 

[BonkTastic]

CTC + the parking lot + the land around it might just be the perfect size for the new Science & Tech Museum.

Jesus, that would be the biggest museum in Canada, haha.

 

[Quo]

Oh yeah, I totally get that there are lots of uses for an old stadium, but in selling it and expecting the new owners to retrofit it for another use, you'll be selling it for pennies on the dollar.You're selling a big empty building at that point, not a pro hockey arena with an anchor tenant.

My whole point was "how much can one reasonably expect to sell it for?", all things considered. Selling SPB/CTC won't go very far in raising money for a new arena.

Point taken. What about the property itself though, would that hold greater value?

edit: Dick W. seems to think so. Looks like a very generous estimation DW.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

No option to turn it into something else? A mall perhaps? We have a thread for this where many of these things were spitballed.

Casino

 

[BonkTastic]

The CTC land alone is probably worth 10's of millions of dollars. Minto could be an entire community on CTC land.

And a new arena is probably in the range of $350-800 mil, depending on how snazzy we make it.

I'm not saying don't go for the new Lebreton arena, I'm just saying be realistic in how much you'll be able to leverage the old one for to pay for it.

 

[Dick Whitman]

If Melnyk wants the arena fully subsidized, then it may be a huge issue. Guarantee he wants 100% subsidization and a claim he will take profits from selling CTC and reallocate it to privately building a casino downtown

Melnyk will get $0 from the government to help build an arena. That is almost a certainty. They may lease the land at a fraction of it's actual cost but that's probably about as much as the sens could expect in the way of financial help.

 

[BonkTastic]

Point taken. What about the property itself though, would that hold greater value?

No idea.

How much is 200 acres of suburban industrial land worth?

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Jesus, that would be the biggest museum in Canada, haha.

lol, true. Add in a off-site University/college campus in there as well. Or maybe partition some land off for private development, too.


Reason I suggest the museum, is to keep the large "Glebite" type artsy-educational crowd happy. If we're putting taxpayer funds into a new arena, we need to throw the arts group a carrot, as well. Putting the new museum there solves a big problem with that facility. And traffic won't be a problem with the LRT line coming in, and along the highway (and we won't have 20k people going to the museum at once and causing a rush hour situation).

 

[Sens Mile]

CTC + the parking lot + the land around it might just be the perfect size for the new Science & Tech Museum.

Might help grease the wheels a lot of there's something coming back tot eh city if it helps out Scrooge with the financials of a new arena.

Or, and this is a strech, there has been talks for awhile that the Federal Government wants to divest itself of some of the buildings it owns downtown. IE: the ones on Laurier. Can sell them to businesses, and retrofit the CTC into a massive Federal Government building. Pennies on the dollar. IE: There is no real reason the Federal Government needs all these departments like CSC located in the heart of downtown

 

[Sens Mile]

Melnyk will get $0 from the government to help build an arena. That is almost a certainty. They may lease the land at a fraction of it's actual cost but that's probably about as much as the sens could expect in the way of financial help.

Ha. Gentlemens bet you are wrong

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Or, and this is a strech, there has been talks for awhile that the Federal Government wants to divest itself of some of the buildings it owns downtown. IE: the ones on Laurier. Can sell them to businesses, and retrofit the CTC into a massive Federal Government building. Pennies on the dollar. IE: There is no real reason the Federal Government needs all these departments like CSC located in the heart of downtown

ooooo, that works, too. And spreading out the government buildings so there isn't that much downtown will automatically alleviate some traffic problems, as well. Great thinking.