Ottawa Senators embark on business community outreach as plans for LeBreton take shape

Marissa Galko

October 29, 2024

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In the wake of the agreement between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission that could pave the way for a new arena at LeBreton Flats, the NHL team is turning its attention to working with the local business community to solidify relationships. In an interview Monday with OBJ, Erin Crowe said the ultimate goal is to ensure that, when people think of Ottawa-Gatineau, they think of the Ottawa Senators. Crowe juggles many roles with the Senators, as executive vice-president and chief financial officer and, as of 2023, chief operations officer. If anyone knows what’s going on with the Sens, it’s Crowe. She says that Senators CEO and president Cyril Leeder and Michael Andlauer, the team’s owner since 2023, have been clear that the city’s business community is important to the organization. In an interview with OBJ last September, Leeder said one of his – and the team’s – most important jobs was going to be “establishing stronger relationships with local businesses.” The ownership change has only accelerated the focus on strengthening those relationships, Crowe added. “Having an NHL team in the city is certainly something we should all be very proud of. It helps us attract and retain talent. It enables our businesses to have a platform for showcasing some of the things they’re doing and engage with the team,” Crowe said. A key part of that is for the Senators to have a new home downtown. Now, with Andlauer at the helm, the long-awaited move seems to be materializing. On Sept. 20, the NCC agreed to sell 10 acres of land at LeBreton Flats to Capital Sports and Development Inc., the corporation representing the Senators, to build a new arena. Crowe says that, with a potential move downtown, the team will be looking for feedback from the business community on what it wants to see, both inside and outside the arena. “I think the interactions with local businesses will only deepen … How do our business partners want to engage with their customers in a new arena? What types of advertising properties and interactive properties are they going to want to see in a new building?” Crowe said. Similar to many people in the business community, Crowe says the new arena could be a catalyst for Ottawa’s downtown revitalization. She points out that new rinks have rejuvenated downtowns in other Canadian cities, such as when the Edmonton Oilers moved to a new arena in the Alberta capital’s ICE district in 2016. “Being at LeBreton, in a location that is directly connected to our LRT system and adjacent to the downtown core, it’s easy to get to. There’ll be an entertainment district or plaza around the arena for people to gather and bring a new dimension to the downtown area that you see in other cities. We’d also be looking at retail and restaurants and entertainment built around the area, for sure,” she said. Conversations with local businesses have become easier post-ownership change, she added. “We’ve got an owner who is very committed to this city. He’s got the pulse on what’s happening in Ottawa. We also have a local component to our ownership group … they’re out there telling the story of the Senators,” she said. Those conversations recently led to securing what Crowe calls “key partnerships” with two Ottawa-based tech companies, Kinaxis and Calian Group, which sponsor the team’s helmets and road jerseys, respectively. “It’s been a great success for us. I was talking to Kevin Ford (CEO of Calian Group) a couple of weeks ago and he said he knew (the partnership with the Senators) would be well-received within their team, but he didn’t realize how excited they were to have that partnership in place. I think it’s carrying a testament to the value of that partnership,” she said. The Senators also recently announced CIBC as a key partner, with a multi-year agreement for the bank’s logo to appear on the players’ home jerseys and CIBC making a $500,000 donation to the Senators Community Foundation. Crowe says she believes businesses are finding it easier to engage with the team, from corporate partnerships to season seats and Club Bell, which allows customers to have premium seats, among other perks. When it comes to the businesses the Sens want to continue engaging with, Crowe says there are ongoing conversations with companies in the tech sector and other Ottawa-based businesses, as well as with the local management teams at bigger companies like Molson, Canadian Tire and Coca-Cola. Crowe said the NHL team is equally determined to strengthen relationships with businesses and residents in Gatineau. Earlier this month, the Senators announced the launch of a “community cabinet,” made up of members of the anglophone, francophone and Indigenous communities to foster a stronger sense of community within the team’s fan base. Members include Claudette Commanda, chancellor of the University of Ottawa and Algonquin elder; Jim Durrell, who served as mayor of Ottawa from 1985-1991 and the first president of the Ottawa Senators in 1990; Martin Paquette, founder and CEO of Groupe Nordik; Wanda Thusky, who runs Decontie Construction and is a member of Algonquin-Anishinabeg Nation; and Kirby Whiteduck, author and former chief of Pikwàkanagàn. The cabinet will offer the team feedback on its upcoming Indigenous Culture Celebration night on Nov. 14. The event allows various Indigenous artists to showcase their crafts, from handcrafted items to musical performances before the game. The Senators Community Foundation has also supported Indigenous youth by creating opportunities for participation in sport and providing sport equipment donated by fans. “The community cabinet is really intended to continue to deepen relationships with different communities, and we’ve also put a very focused working group on the Gatineau side,” Crowe said. “We are involved with the (Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la capital nationale) and the Gatineau Chamber of Commerce. We’ve implemented some of the feedback from the working group within the arena to really try and make it easy for people from Gatineau to come and experience the Sens.” Crowe believes that outreach to the business community on both sides of the Ottawa River will not only strengthen the Senators, but will help boost other local businesses as well. “It’s the right thing to do for our community, our business community, and our overall Ottawa-Gatineau community as a whole.” – with files from David Sali