The Ottawa Senators are making progress on a deal to acquire land for their new arena in LeBreton Flats, but there are still hurdles to clear ahead of the September 20 deadline, according to Senators president Cyril Leeder.
Leeder joined TSN1200 on Thursday morning to discuss negotiations and goals for the fan experience with the proposed new arena in downtown Ottawa.
"We're not there yet, we're still talking and making some progress so I'm hopeful that we'll get there, but we're not there yet," Leeder said.
The Senators were named preferred bidder for the LeBreton Flats project back in June of 2022, and a memorandum with a group led by the team was signed for a "major event centre."
The Senators' bid was chosen ahead of what the National Capital Commission said were "multiple" other expressions of interest for the land, which lies just west of Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood, close to the downtown core.
Now, the NCC has set Sept. 20 as the deadline for an agreement to be made while the Senators retain preferred bidder status on the land.
"I think there's a willingness to find a way to get something done. It's taken this long, and sometimes a deadline focuses the mind and gets parties to compromise on both sides. Hopefully we find some common ground," Leeder said.
The Senators have played at Canadian Tire Centre since January of 1996, which puts it among the oldest arenas in the league - and is part of the reason why Leeder believes the clock is ticking for an upgrade, especially considering some other stadiums are slated to be modernized in the near future.
"Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto all built their stadiums around the exact same time. It helps that Toronto's Scotiabank Arena is having a major renovation, Montreal's Bell Centre is undergoing one, as well."
"When Calgary's new stadium is built and the others are renovated, we are going to be the oldest building in [Canada,]" Leeder said.
While the Sept. 20 deadline is not legally a 'hard deadline,' as negotiations can continue beyond that day, both sides are treating it as one.
"Yeah, I think we've agreed on that [deadline] with the NCC, they feel the same way," he said.
"They decide what's going to go on here, and if we're not going to be there, they need to make plans and we do too. We really want to be downtown, if it's not at LeBreton then we'll have to start looking at other sites."
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