The Senators still have a long way to go but this is their biggest step yet toward getting a new downtown arena built.
It came down to the final day of their self-imposed deadline, but the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC) have reached an agreement in principle that will allow the NHL club to build a new arena at LeBreton Flats. It's the most significant step yet toward building a new arena closer to downtown and Gatineau.
If all goes according to plan, Capital Sports Development Inc. (CSDI), the parent company of the Senators, will buy 10 acres of LeBreton land for the project, allowing more room for things like parking and other amenities.
That was a significant change from the early talks that suggested the Senators would get six acres and change to work with. The outright sale of the land is new as well, as the NCC originally favoured a long-term lease arrangement.
The NCC's Tobi Nussbaum wouldn't specify a price tag for the land, only that it will be at fair market value.
Nussbaum and Senators' president Cyril Leeder held a news conference this afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre, one of those big ones that also draw in the news media, where both men addressed the long road to this point.
While no one on either side would say it publicly, this day would never have come under the previous Sens' ownership.
I asked Nussbaum how the tone of the NCC talks with the 2024 version of the Senators compared to the Sens of the past.
"I can only speak to the fact that over the last year, it has been a very productive tone," Nussbaum said. "I think Cyril said it well, that there's a real alignment of interest and alignment of agreement that this site makes sense. And I think (we see that) through the personalities at play, the commitment, the energy."
Nussbaum admits there were some tough days with difficult issues, but what helped was that both sides had a common purpose, knowing that there are both private and public benefits here.
"There's a real recognition that there are both private and public benefits here. I mean, the Senators are doing what's right for the team. And we think that there is great public value in having the Senators downtown. "
Leeder is excited that things have reached this point, but there's still a lot to do. He cautioned that it will be years, not months, before a shovel hits the ground. But he's ready for the challenge.
"I take this as a personal challenge," Leeder said. "I'm kind of committed. One of the reasons I came back to the team was I thought it was important to have an arena downtown. So I'm personally committed to that process. I want to make it happen. Having talked to Toby and his team, I feel that the NCC is really committed to trying to help work with us to make that happen."
The biggest item on the to-do list is a financing plan. What will everything cost? Who pays for what? Does government pitch in?
Beyond finances, Leeder and his team have other significant hurdles, such as zoning issues, geological, transportation, and mobility studies, and removing ten grimy acres of contaminated soil at LeBreton.
But those are tomorrow's challenges. Friday was a day worth celebrating. Fuelling Leeder's optimism is the strong belief that almost everyone wants the arena to happen.
"The team wants it to happen. Toby and his team want this to happen. I think the community wants it to happen. We really are at a point where having an arena downtown is going to be great for the Ottawa Senators."
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