The Ottawa Charge saw their future in Canada's capital put into question last week with the passage of the Lansdowne 2.0 plan. The plan, which passed in a vote in front of Ottawa's mayor and council by a vote of 15-10, will see a $418.8 million renovation and rebuild of Lansdowne Park, including a new, yet significantly smaller arena for the Ottawa Charge.

The PWHL voiced their displeasure with the plan and reiterated that they were not invited to the table to discuss the arena plans as stakeholders. Rather the belief is the plan was made by and for OSEG's assets, which include a junior hockey team, the OHL's Ottawa 67s who also call the venue home, and who are given primary consideration at the facility for branding and scheduling despite drawing significantly fewer fans.

Plans for Lansdowne 2.0 will see a new arena with a seating capacity of only 5,500, a nearly 3,000 seat reduction over the current facility at TD Place Arena. Given the Ottawa Charge have average more than 7,000 fans across their first two seasons, and have drawn over 8,000 many times, it will result in a significant loss of revenue for the league, which the PWHL estimates will translate to roughly $1 million in additional losses each year. While the league could outgrow any proposed arena by that point, it's equally likely fans will choose not to invest in a team they might soon be unable to watch, and the team's support could plummet over the next half decade.

This is what is known, however, what isn't known is where the Ottawa Charge will actually go from here. There are a variety of options to look at, with pros and cons for each. What will the decision be? Time will tell.

Option 1: Staying With The New OSEG Arena

 Neither the PWHL, nor Ottawa Charge want this option. While Mayor Mark Sutcliffe leaned on 1,100 standing room spaces for capacity figures, he also consistently downplayed the success of the Ottawa Charge. The reality of the Charge's capacity concerns are that in two seasons in Ottawa, the team has drawn less than 5,500 fans only four times, with two of those four averaging 5,476 fans. Meanwhile the Ottawa 67s, who were the team this facility was designed to support, last season averaged only 3,522 fans, and have not drawn an average of 5,500 or more since 2012-13. That season was the final of a more than decade long decrease in attendance. In fact, since their peak in 2004-05, the Ottawa Charge have lost more than the total proposed seated capacity for the new venue in average attendance.

Staying at the new arena for Ottawa would ensure a new, safe facility, and new dressing rooms and training potential. Those are the pros. The cons however include significant financial losses, and the near certainty that the Charge's needs will never be considered when it comes branding or scheduling, no matter how successful they are. The new arena at Lansdowne 2.0 will reportedly be complete in 2028 meaning the Charge have at least two more seasons before any move becomes necessary.

Option 2: Move To Canadian Tire Centre

It was interesting to hear this option play out on repeat from supporters in council of Lansdowne 2.0. Canadian Tire Centre has become an arena that does not meet the needs of the city's professional men's hockey team who have been desperately trying to escape the venue for a decade. So why suggest it as a viable option for the city's professional women's team? Located outside Ottawa in Kanata, the Canadian Tire Centre is a 30 minute drive from downtown Ottawa, and 1.5 hours on public transit. The arena would provide an abundance of seating, but the facility itself will turn 30 in 2026, hardly a new or state-of-the-art facility. In fact, the Canadian Tire Centre is now the ninth oldest arena in the NHL. The PWHL has struggled with venues like the Tsgonas Center in Lowell (Boston Fleet), and the New York Sirens' original home in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The PWHL will almost certainly do everything they can to avoid moving further from fans. The team did play one game at the Canadian Tire Centre last year drawing more than 11,000 fans, but this year they do not plan to return to the facility.

Option 3: Relocate

This is the option no Ottawa Charge fan wants to see, but for the single-entity owned PWHL, relocation is less of the failure seen in many pro leagues, and more about a redistribution of assets to where they're better suited. The obvious move for the league would be to keep the Charge regional, or perhaps that is better described as régionale. Quebec City would be an obvious move with an arena sitting ready, and a city council ready and willing to support professional women's sport. It's hard to envision Ottawa becoming a city pro sports leagues and franchises are interested in dealing with in the future, and locations like Quebec City, or perhaps Hamilton, Ontario, and Halifax, who will all welcome the PWHL this season on the Takeover Tour, are obvious solutions. While the league has said that relocation is not their intention, the PWHL is a business, and one that is focused on collective success. That collective success cannot include a team that bleeds millions of dollars annually when other, more viable options, exist. The players worked too long and too hard to allow a team to stay in a market than cannot, or will not, support professional women's sports. 

Option 4: Wait And Hope For LeBreton Flats

The Ottawa Charge have not been a player in the discussions for a potential new arena at LeBreton Flats in Ottawa. The Ottawa Senators, who have been trying to leave the Canadian Tire Centre for a new home for several seasons, finally secured an agreement to purchase lands from the National Capital Commission in August. That land, located at LeBreton Flats, a centrally located area of Ottawa, are the intended home for a new arena for the NHL's Ottawa Senators. The arena could also be a good fit for the PWHL's Ottawa Charge, although it would keep the Charge as a secondary tenant with limited ability to brand and schedule. Still, it would also take the Charge's future out of the hands of OSEG and the City of Ottawa, who according to the PWHL have refused to listen to the team or league. 

A new arena at LeBreton however, has no firm timeline. Currently, projections put the project with a completion date in 2030 or beyond. It means the Charge would have at least two seasons without a permanent home, and force the team to potentially spend those years losing money in an undersized venue, or couch surfing between venues. 

What option do you think is best of the Ottawa Charge and PWHL? Let us know in the comments below.

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