NHL commissioner puts non-LeBreton Flats arena locations in play

A new downtown arena "is vitally important to the long-term future, stability and competitiveness of the Senators."

That was NHLCommissioner Gary Bettman's take on moving the home of the OttawaSenators to LeBreton Flatsin 2017, in the midst of an ultimately failedbid to redevelop the entirety of those downtown lands.

Monday evening,the commissionerdidn't seem quite so bullish onLeBreton.

"There's going to be a new owner and that new owner is going to figure out what makes the most sense," Bettman said.

Indeed, he went on, look how well this franchise is turning it around, increasing ticketsales by 50 per cent, playing "meaningful games" at the end of Marchall while more than 20 kilometres west of the flatsin Kanata.

That 2.5 hectare parcel of land set aside for a major events centre at LeBreton"struck me as being a little small," Bettman told reporters.

"You need parking. You want to make sure you can build the arena big enough to have all the loading docks andTV hookups that make a building really accessible."

WATCH | The NHL's commissioner on the LeBreton land:

Lebreton parcel 'struck me as being a little small,' NHL commissioner says

2 years ago

Duration 1:00

Asked about the parcel of land at LeBreton Flats set aside for a potential new arena for the Ottawa Senators, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he has questions about the size of the land, but "there are options downtown."

Now, Bettman insisted hewas in the capital Monday merelyfor his annual franchise visit. Sure, he caught up with the brass at the National Capital Commission (NCC) and sat down withOttawa's new mayor, but only to get better acquainted and keep the lines of communications open.

There were certainly no dramatic headlines from thevisit.But his cool comments on LeBreton, when he has been so enthusiastic in the past about a downtown arena, are worth noting.

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Bettman'scomments aren't the only slight lobbed at LeBreton lately.

Last weekMayor Mark Sutcliffe,who insisted Mondayhe views LeBretonasa "great site for an arena," pointed out other potential city-owned rink locations: Bayview Yards on the other side of Bayview station from the LeBreton site, the RCGT Park baseball stadium just east of the core, even property around the Hurdmantransit hub south of the stadium.

LeBreton is "not the only option," said the mayor, who joined the commissioner at his news conference.

Bettmanagreed.He said he's not any more or less optimistic about a LeBreton rink, but he's aware "there are options downtownand that's always a good thing to have. Even if the team wants to go to LeBreton, knowing that there are options will make going wherever they go easier."

Considering that these city-owned optionsare even farther from the downtowncore than LeBreton, it's difficult not to consider thosecomments as posturing to get the team a better deal.

It might be working, at least a little.

As we know, the current Senators owners and a crew of powerful partners in the sports and events sectorsigned a memorandum of understanding with the NCClast year about LeBreton Flats, which was cleared in the 1960s for development that never came to fruition.

In a statement released after Monday's meeting between Bettman and the NCC's Tobi Nussbaum and Marc Seaman, the NCCsaid themen discussed the progress of the arena deal, which isn't binding on the new owners, "including those provisions which offer flexibility to ensure the success of this bold and ambitious project."

This "flexibility"is likely a condition in the agreement to add moreLeBreton land to the rink deal with new owners.

It's probably not much more land, but discussions on adding more property to the NCC's major events centre parcel areundoubtedly behindBettman's comments on the current lands being a"bit small."

The Kanata land play

Now, real estate does play a significant role in arena developments, especially in smaller marketswhere it may be harder to pay off the nine-digit price tag of a new facility.

Winnipeg Jets owners True North Sports + Entertainment, for example,havea successful development arm that helps support its sports endeavours.

That arena plus real estate one-two punch was the idea behind theill-fated 2016 bid by the Sens and Trinity Development to redevelop the entire 29 hectares at LeBreton. Even with the massive real estate play, the deal fell apart in spectacular fashion.

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With all this,there is surely a real question among the six or so groups still in the bidding to buy the Senators about whether they have enough land at LeBreton to make a go of a downtown arena (parkingis a whole other story).

One aspect that is less discussed, however, is the 32 hectares of land in Kanata that comes with the sale of the team.

If the owners decide to relocate and it is frankly hardto imagine that after spending hundreds of millions on a team, new proprietors wouldn't take the chance to put a shiny new rink closer to the core they'dhave a big swath of valuable, available landnear the highway, ready to develop.

That property is already zoned for mixed-use, and under the currentpolitical climate in the province, almost any amount of housing would likely be allowedat heights not seen before in the western suburband under a much easier regulatory regime than the NCC.

There is a reason that experienced developers are involved in these bids.

Still, while the Kanatareal estate play could be lucrative and help financea downtown arena, it's a long game, with profits not seen for many years or even decades.

None of this can definitively answer the question of whether a new rink will be built downtown.

But consider this: the Senators have twice worked towarda downtown home in the last decade. Those properties identified by the mayor? They've been there all these years, and no one's mentioned them until very recently.

Buttwice, under two different owners,the Senators have chosen to bid for a new arena at LeBreton.

Would the third be the charm?