With a focus on movement and convenience, new management has made some good changes in the fans' game day experience at Canadian Tire Centre.
After six months away from the rink, Senators fans were treated to not only an entertaining 3-1 win against Matthew Tkachuk and the reigning Stanley Cup champs, they were treated to some significant changes in and around the building. These changes went beyond great goaltending from newly signed superstar goalie Linus Ullmark.
Smart changes and tweaks have made going to a Senators game easier and more fun, allowing fans to focus more on the game itself.
The game day experience itself has changed in very interesting ways, in ways immediately noticeable and subtle alike. This writer was among the sellout crowd of 19,346 in attendance, and here are some musings on the (mostly) positive changes.
Managing foot and motor traffic:
In the past, a sellout crowd meant fun in the stands but a nightmare to get in and out, an Achilles heel of attending a Senators game for most of their existence.
The first immediately noticeable change is how quickly fans can get into the parking lot now. Police presence directing traffic appeared effective and kept traffic moving.
Parking attendants have been eliminated, and cars can now cruise right into the lot. This has resulted in never being fully stopped on Palladium Drive. No more watching fans walk down the road faster than the cars. No more waiting for someone to fish out their credit card with a hundred cars behind them.
Payment of the $21 flat rate is now handled by Indigo via online payment with QR codes posted throughout the lot (with no app download!) or via a machine in the building. Some may scoff at the $21 price, but this aligns with other arena parking options around the league.
In a short conversation with an arena attendant, they confirmed to us that ticketing for non-payment is handled by the City of Ottawa parking enforcement, which means zipping into the lot and not paying will result in enforceable tickets and prevention of licence plate renewals for delinquents.
We were also told that plates are not inspected until after the second period. This means fans who forget to pay until later in the game are not punished unfairly. This is a smart partnership to increase revenues for the city and get fans in and out quicker in a customer-friendly way.
In the past, fans could arrive at the arena at 6:15 PM for a 7:00 PM start and still miss the opening faceoff just waiting to get into the parking lot and then into the building. Entrance to the building has been streamlined; just a quick walk through a security checkpoint, and we were in the building. No emptying of pockets, no wand waving around your body. There was no line for security or ticket scanning, just a steady flow. We arrived at 6:15 for this one, took in the fan fest in the front of the arena for 15 minutes, grabbed a $5 beer at the tent, and were still comfortably in our seats for warmups, player introductions, and the start of the game.
So getting in quicker is all well and good, but any Senators fan who’s driven to a game knows that getting out is a different story. It was not uncommon to simply sit in a parking space and take nearly an hour just to leave. The seemingly minor decision to open the public transit interchange directly onto the 417 East to general traffic once buses have cleared has made a world of difference. From ignition on in the car to cruising along the highway, it took 15 minutes.
This is a massive improvement from the days of huddling in an idling car in the dead of winter, listening to the post-game show for half an hour until any movement was even possible. Hopefully, this means less of the Senators' tradition of fans filing out with 10 minutes to go in the third period, regardless of the score.
The concourse is still crowded and difficult to navigate during intermissions through a crush of people, as it took an entire intermission just to take a lap around the building. However, this isn’t something that’s possible to fix without major renovations or a new arena, so we’ll let that one slide. We’ll also see if anything happens with water temperature in the bathrooms as the temperatures go down this winter.
Concessions:
While we didn’t get any of the new food options, the concourse sure smelled better with the new options throughout the arena. One option we did take advantage of was the self-serve beverage options. Open coolers filled with drinks, both conventional and alcoholic, have been installed throughout the arena, and payment is as simple as placing the can or bottle on a smart scanner. All is monitored by an attendant to check IDs, ensure that fans pay for the purchase and open the cans before leaving so the team isn’t selling dangerous projectiles that can fly in from the stands. This is how self-scan should be, with a human being nearby, but in the interest of speeding things along.
A single can of Coors Seltzer costs $16, which, again, some may scoff at but is in line with beverage pricing across professional sports in Canada. At least it took under a minute to purchase. Cash has not been accepted in the arena since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s debit, credit or get out.
In-seat experience:
Compared to other markets, Ottawa features a more subdued experience, which likely serves this market better than a bombastic experience. It’s disappointing that there’s still no on-the-ice projection that turns the entire ice surface into a screen, and the HD scoreboard is now dated compared to other arenas. Stats such as shots and power play rates are displayed on the screen, but the small font can be difficult to make out for those with weaker eyesight.
Some new additions in the upper bowl include a new platform designed to look like a pipe organ with a live keyboard player. While it’s just PVC pipe designed to look like a pipe organ instead of the real deal, it adds to the old-school hockey atmosphere. The team also installed a loud bell in the upper section around section 320. Games will now be kicked off by fans and celebrities who ring the bell loudly before puck drop. It’s a nice touch that Vegas made popular with their pre-game Siren Crank.
The seats throughout the lower bowl have been upgraded, and they looked comfortable, even from the rather cramped seats in the corner of the upper bowl where we were.
The team was smart to bring back Lyndon Slewidge for the anthem performances. He still has that powerful and operatic voice that reverberates throughout the arena. This is another nice bridge rebuilt by the organization.
Intermission entertainment was handled by a tribute 80s hair metal band who belted out anthems by the likes of Journey, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses and the like. It was fun and inoffensive stuff. DJ Prosper was nowhere to be seen for the home opener, which we will leave up to the reader as a positive or negative. The in-arena DJ did seem to focus more music on sing-along anthems, muting the music for the crowd to sing during chorus portions of songs like Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer or DMX’s “Party Up (in Here).” The in-arena music mix seems designed to appeal to a wide range of fans and was a good balance to keep them engaged.
All these changes meant teams could hang on every Ullmark save, get more engaged with the game, and then get home sooner afterwards.
The team has made some smart changes that, aside from some increased costs, have made it more fun and easy to attend a game. Will it affect attendance for this season? That probably depends on the product on the ice more than anything, but the team has done a great job of controlling the controllable and creating a more welcoming environment for fans.