Article content continued

The Sens organization said it will make its final decision on whether to submit an application to the NCC over the next few weeks. While the Senators believe an NHL arena at LeBreton could drive economic development in the core, as well as serve as an “architectural anchor” for the development, they underlined that they “feel very strongly that this could only be possible with strong community support.”

That could be a call to arms to Sens fans who support an arena in the city core to rise up in support of the idea.

For decades, many have decried the current arena’s Kanata location as inconvenient, if not a downright barrier to attendance.

As one of the NCC’s criteria for proposals is that the redevelopment be a “valued destination for residents from the region,” vocal support from fans in favour of a move to LeBreton could help the organization’s bid.

Even Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird seemed to question the current location of the NHL arena.

The Ottawa West-Nepean MP was at the Citizen on Tuesday for an editorial board meeting when he was asked about whether he’d be in favour of an arena being built at LeBreton.

Baird is the federal minister responsible for the NCC, and his opinion matters. He appoints directors to the NCC board and hired the new CEO, Mark Kristmanson.

His main concern is that any new plan for LeBreton be state of the art — “If it’s not excellent my strong advice would be let’s not do it,” he said — pointing out that few cities have an opportunity to develop a major piece of land in its downtown core. Baird also said he wants to “respect the process” and didn’t want to wade into what his personal preferences for LeBreton might be.