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Photo by RendezVous Group

The National Capital Commission, which had served noticed to the RendezVous LeBreton partners it would terminate the agreement on Jan. 19, has granted Melnyk and Ruddy until Feb. 28 to work out their differences. Winkler asked for the extension on Jan. 9 and it was granted by the NCC’s board on Jan. 14.

It’s believed a representative from Devcore Canderel DLS, the second-place finisher in the bid to redevelop LeBreton Flats, will play a role in these discussions. It’s not clear exactly what that will be, but there is talk the runner-up could play a big role if there’s going to be a resolution and a new arena is built on the Flats.

The NCC was scheduled to discuss LeBreton Flats during its meeting Jan. 24, but that was taken off the agenda because there is still a hope the deal with RLG can be negotiated through mediation. If there wasn’t any chance, the NCC would have simply moved on, however, a lot of work has been done on this file and it’s worth saving.

Photo by Jean Levac / OttSunWP

The RLG bid looked all but dead in December after Melnyk launched a $700-million lawsuit against Ruddy, and Bird and Trinity countersued for $1 billion. Not long after, the NCC issued notice to both parties on Dec. 19 they had 30 days to solve their differences.

But the reality is nothing is ever over until it’s over and everybody involved would like to find a way to make this dream a reality. Make no mistake: the NCC doesn’t look good, and though the board indicated last month the organization was ready to continue with the project, nobody has any idea what route would take without an arena.