PWHL To Ottawa: "We Will Not Play At Lansdowne 2.0"

When the Lansdowne 2.0 plan driven by the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group passed through City of Ottawa council recently, the PWHL said all options were on the table.

Now, one of those options is gone. The PWHL's Ottawa Charge will not play at the new arena slated to be built at Lansdowne 2.0, costing OSEG and Ottawa the biggest hockey draw to the arena. The issue at hand is the planned reduction of seating at the new arena from the current level at TD Place, which sits close to 8,500 fans, down to 5,500 seats at the venue which will soon replace the historic arena.

Accoridng to the PWHL's executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer, the league will not play at the new venue. It's the one option that is not completely off the table.

"We've certainly been clear with OSEG and the City that we will not go backward, we will not play in a 5,500 seat building," said Scheer. "These women have worked too hard to get to the point today where a 5,500 seat building is well below what we average in Ottawa."

"We will not play at Lansdowne 2.0, that's the one option not on the table, but every other option is on the table," Scheer continued.

What remains for the Ottawa Charge and their fan base is the possibility of the team moving to the Canadian Tire Centre, current home of the NHL's Ottawa Senators in Kanata, Ontario, moving to a proposed future rink at LeBreton Flats, which would be the new home to the Ottawa Senators, or leaving Ottawa altogether.

The last option, relocating the team, is not, according to Scheer, what the league wants, but all options outside of playing at Lansdowne 2.0 remain viable.

"We've been very clear with the city," said Scheer. "The job now is to find out what the best alternative for the Ottawa Charge is and we are working through all those options right now."

"We certainly don't want to leave Ottawa, we chose Ottawa for a reason and the fans have been wonderfully supportive of us there, we'd like to find a solution for us that works to stay in Ottawa. The City hasn't made it easy for us, it's disappointing."

The Ottawa Charge advanced to the PWHL final last season against the Minnesota Frost. Ottawa has averaged more than 7,000 fans per game over the last two seasons combined at TD Place Arena in Ottawa.

OSEG who will manage the new arena and currently manages TD Place Arena owns the OHL's Ottawa 67s, who despite being a junior hockey team are considered the primary tenant at TD Place, and were the primary concern when designing the new, smaller facility.