Is there room for seven pro sports teams in Ottawa? Observers say ‘clustering’ could be key

April 8, 2024

While the number of pro sports teams in Ottawa has proliferated in recent years, observers suggest that the “clustering” of these teams will prevent the type of failures seen in the past.

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While the number of professional sports teams in Ottawa has proliferated in recent years, observers suggest that the “clustering” of these teams will prevent the type of failures seen in the past. There is a long history of sports franchise failures in Ottawa, as baseball, football, lacrosse and soccer clubs have come and gone over the years, leading many observers to believe that the city cannot support a lot of pro teams. Today, the professional sports landscape of franchises with paid attendance in Ottawa-Gatineau includes seven teams. The Ottawa Black Bears of the National Lacrosse League, a franchise directly associated with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, will start play in December 2024. There are also the Redblacks of the Canadian Football League; the Blackjacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League; baseball team the Titans of the Frontier League; soccer team Atlético Ottawa of the Canadian Premier League; and Ottawa’s Professional Women's Hockey League team. There are also two junior hockey teams that rely on financial support from fans: the Ottawa 67’s and the Gatineau Olympiques. According to François Brouard, a professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business who studies the economics of sports, by operating sports franchises within clusters of businesses, the viability of teams in Ottawa is becoming more manageable. Along with the cluster of teams associated with the Senators and the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, there is also Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), which owns the CFL’s Redblacks and Ottawa 67’s. Former OSEG president Jeff Hunt, who stepped down in 2018 after 22 years and who has extensive experience in Ottawa’s sports market, told OBJ that a marketplace of about one million people is more than big enough to support a multitude of sports franchises. He said sports teams are not competing for fans, but are competing against the couch at home. “You have to give people a reason to come to your games rather than just stay at home where they already have a lot of different entertainment options,” Hunt said. Pro sports teams are like any other business, he added, and winning and losing on the field of play has less to do with success than creating a fan experience that keeps customers coming back. “You win some, you lose some,” Hunt said. “When you are winning, fans are willing to put up with a lot of things. When you are losing, you better give the fans a reason to keep coming.” He agreed that creating a cluster of teams around a facility can foster success, such as OSEG has with the 67’s and Redblacks at Lansdowne, where PWHL Ottawa also plays at TD Place Arena. The Senators hope to do the same with hockey and lacrosse at the CTC in the west end. Clustering teams within one organization allows for cross-promotion and financial savings, improving the financial security of each franchise, Brouard told OBJ. While the Ottawa women’s pro hockey team has gotten off to a solid start at the box office, as has the six-team PWHL, the long-term success of other teams in Ottawa is too early to predict as pro teams in almost all those sports – football, soccer, lacrosse and baseball – have failed in the Ottawa market before, Brouard added. Although the women’s hockey league is not part of an Ottawa sports cluster, its finances are not an issue as the PWHL teams, including Ottawa, are owned and financially backed by American billionaire Mark Walter. For the National Lacrosse League, its association with the Ottawa Senators is making it feel bullish on the Ottawa market. “This is an immense opportunity for our league … to partner with a sophisticated front office in the Senators. We feel this relationship will be a terrific success and are excited and confident in the short- and long-term positioning of the Ottawa Black Bears,” said NLL commissioner Brett Frood. The franchise will maintain a strong working relationship with Senators Sports and Entertainment, the league said. The Senators are also confident that the new lacrosse team will be on solid financial footing and poised for success. “We believe the Ottawa Black Bears will be another great addition to the Ottawa sports landscape,” said Erin Crowe, the NHL club’s executive vice-president and CFO.