NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says the Senators’ proposed new arena at LeBreton Flats could be “something that revitalizes” Ottawa’s downtown, but adds it will be up to local business and community leaders to decide whether the plan becomes reality.
In an interview with OBJ following a luncheon Tuesday at the National Arts Centre, Bettman said he’s keeping a close eye on negotiations as the Senators try to hammer out a deal to officially purchase 10 acres of land at LeBreton from the National Capital Commission for a new rink.
“The letter of intent is a terrific start, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” he said of the agreement in principle between the Senators and the NCC that was finalized on Sept. 20. “But it seems, especially being here today, that there’s a genuine commitment on behalf of all constituencies to try and move this forward.”
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Bettman, who was expected to meet with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe later in the day before attending Tuesday night’s game between the Sens and the visiting Edmonton Oilers, was a guest speaker at the CEO Talks event co-hosted by OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade.
He was joined by Senators owner Michael Andlauer and the NHL club’s vice-president of communications Ian Mendes, who moderated the 40-minute chat.
Not surprisingly, the Senators’ arena situation figured prominently during the discussion, which attracted hundreds of local business leaders.
Bettman made it clear he believes the community needs to rally behind Andlauer and his group if it wants a new NHL venue at LeBreton to come to fruition.
“Any new building has to be a community, public-private based endeavour or it doesn’t work,” he said.
“It really starts with understanding what the community wants and what the community needs. And everything I’ve heard from people in the business community, the mayor, is there needs to be something that revitalizes downtown – that’s a magnet to draw people downtown. The Canadian Tire Centre is a perfectly nice arena, and the Senators could play there forever, but it’s not exactly the most central location.”
Bettman pointed to Edmonton’s NHL arena, which opened in 2016 in a newly developed mixed-use district in the city’s core, as an example, calling it “transformative” for the Alberta capital.
He suggested the same thing could happen in the nation’s capital.
The Senators “can stay where they are, or you can do something that really is designed to improve the quality of life in Ottawa,” he told the crowd. “That’s a judgment that this group and the civic leaders and Michael have to make.”
Bettman also noted he experienced firsthand the buzz surrounding Taylor Swift’s series of sold-out concerts at the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto, which are expected to generate nearly $300 million in economic spinoffs for the region.
“You couldn’t believe what was going on in that city,” said the NHL commissioner, who attended one of Swift’s concerts in Toronto with his granddaughter last Friday. “It wouldn’t have happened if the arena were in Mississauga. It just wouldn’t.”
Following the discussion with Andlauer and Mendes, Bettman reiterated his belief that an arena at LeBreton could be a catalyst for a downtown revival because it would likely attract more major events than the team’s current building in Kanata.
“The team can continue to play in the Canadian Tire Centre, but what do the fans want and what does the business community want? And can this make a difference in revitalizing Ottawa by instead of having 50 or 75 events, having 150 events and people downtown more, shopping, going to restaurants? That’s something the community is going to have to answer,” he told OBJ.
Bettman, who will mark 32 years as the NHL’s top executive next Feb. 1, also praised the Senators’ new owner, saying Andlauer has shown “an incredible commitment, financially, emotionally, to the community and to the team” since he purchased the club in 2023.
The commissioner said he believes the Senators have a bright future ahead.
“On and off the ice, all the vital signs are good.”
