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“The best thing I can tell you about The Seventh is, by expressing directly to the fan base, ‘We appreciate you, we need you, we value you,’ and we’ve created a program that is based entirely on the feedback to us, we’re living our values,” said Ruszkowski.

The Senators know trust is a factor, and after the LeBreton Flats project fell through Feb. 28, the key for the organization is getting fans focused on the fact they’re going to be in Kanata for the foreseeable future.

“How do we get to a place where we restore trust?” Ruszkowski said. “Where we communicate to the fans, ‘We understand your concerns about on-ice performance, we understand your concerns about the in-stadium experience that you’ve had.’

“What are we doing to make that better? In addition to the steps we’ve already taken this year on the in-game front, we can start talking about getting the fan base more enthusiastic about their involvement in the game.”

Ruszkowski said the organization is listening to the season-ticket holders and trying to alleviate concerns.

“Any time your most loyal customers are talking to you about their desire to see you do better, it’s not only incumbent on your fan base to think about the team in a new light, it’s incumbent on me and on us to give them the experiences to allow them to look at the team in a new light,” Ruszkowski said. “The market has spoken to us and it’s our job to listen, to learn and to understand and to react accordingly.”

Ruszkowski said an area where the Senators need to capitalize to grow the ticket base is through the casual buyers. The club has sold 85,000 to 90,000 seats through single-game seating this season and those are people who may be interested in ticket packages.