If Senators don’t move downtown, ‘they’re gone’ says Don

Moving the rink is essential, but the work won’t be done

Artist’s rendition of proposed new arena at LeBreton Flats (Image: RendezVous LeBreton Group)

According to Don Cherry, hockey sage and the guy who discovered every player before anyone else, if the Ottawa hockey club doesn’t build a new arena downtown, it is only a matter of time before the team relocates.

Cherry suggested Quebec City as the destination, owing to the fact that the Senators General Manager and Coach are francophone, and that the team has “lots of French guys.” Apparently that will suffice to make an NHL franchise economically viable in a city with a population that is half the size of Ottawa’s. Case closed I guess, eh Don?

The comments followed those of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaking in Sweden, who said “A new downtown arena is vitally important to the long-term future, stability and competitiveness of the Senators.”

None of this is coincidental. With politicians having the nerve to be financially prudent in Calgary vis-à-vis public dollars funding privately owned arenas, the NHL PR machine is ratcheting up the rhetoric in an attempt to get ahead of the game in Ottawa and rally public support.

Don’t get me wrong — I completely agree that the arena needs to be downtown. Every aspect of getting to and from the existing rink in Kanata sucks, whether you drive, use public transit, use Uber or a dedicated bus. But the in-arena experience, which is your only pre-game option given that there are only car dealerships within walking distance of the rink, is lacking too.

It is little wonder that many fans choose to watch the game on television at home or downtown along the “Sens Mile”, the celebratory route lined with restaurants and bars, some 25 kilometers away from the arena.

Increasingly people feel that going to a sporting event needs to be a more complete experience. The Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL seem to have found the formula — drop a competitive team into a dynamic and vibrant setting with plenty of choice, and the crowds will come. (It remains to be seen if the momentum can be maintained if the team strings together a few losing seasons).

I believe that attendance will improve if the rink relocates to a redeveloped LeBreton Flats, even if ticket prices go up significantly due to reduced capacity designed to manufacture scarcity.

But simply moving the arena won’t be enough to guarantee sell-outs, because going to a Senators game just isn’t that fun. Sorry Eugene.

Senators fans can’t really complain about the on-ice product, which has for the most part been competitive year after year. But they can complain about certain aspects of the in-arena experience.

The food is mediocre and expensive, and the selection is limited. The same can be said about the beer choices, which haven’t evolved to keep pace with what an increasing number of people want. (No, Creemore Springs Premium Lager is not a craft beer). How many times must we hear Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses or Cotton Eyed Joe by Rednex? No, I don’t want to be pestered about signing up for a credit card, even if I get a free polyester blanket emblazoned with the outdated Senators centurion logo. And yes, people want the heritage jersey look. Now. Yesterday actually.

Outdoor pre-game celebrations during the playoffs are bizarre identity-less aggregations of loud music, bad beer and confused fans. At one event last fall, as fans were starting to get pumped, the music was stopped suddenly and a marching band got on stage and started playing When the Saints Come Marching In, tuba and all. Didn’t that get played to welcome troops back from the First World War? Not the band’s fault, but the moment redefined the word buzzkill.

The residents of Ottawa have a long history of staying away from sporting events. The original Ottawa Senators team was heavily indebted when it relocated to St. Louis in 1935, owing to poor attendance. The same fate awaited both of Ottawa’s short lived World Hockey Association franchises, the Civics and Nationals, in the 1970s. Lackluster attendance isn’t only a hockey problem, as evidenced by the loss of the Ottawa Lynx of AAA baseball and two CFL franchises before the arrival of the Redblacks.

The Ottawa Senators have a large and loyal following, and I think that most citizens, fans or not, believe that the city is a better place with the team in it.

Don’t fan shame us for not selling out or play the relocation card to threaten us. Show us respect by offering value and choice at a new downtown arena. Oh, and tell Cherry to put a sock in it.