The City of Ottawa’s Finance and Corporate Services Committee heard from delegates on Wednesday, October 29, as it discussed the proposed Lansdowne 2.0 project, which is set to go to Council for a vote on Wednesday, November 5.
Delegate Jayna Hefford, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge—who play their home games at TD Place Arena at Lansdowne—dropped a bomb on the proceedings when she stated that the Charge were not consulted about arena capacity, a critical issue in the team’s future profitability.
The Charge will kick off their third season in Ottawa in November. In addition to having the highest attendance in the league in year one, the team saw a 20 percent growth in ticket sales in year two and is on track to have the same growth this year.
Hefford stated that OSEG promised that arena capacity would be addressed at a later date, and that the team was never consulted, despite the final plans having been made public nine days ago and a narrative being promoted that the Charge supported the changes to the arena.
Amy Sheer, the team’s Executive Vice President of Business Operations, told the committee that reducing the arena by 3,000 seats is debilitating for the business and stressed that during talks with OSEG and the mayor, “In every conversation, we were told capacity will be addressed at a later date.” Sheer explained that bums-in-seats translate into concession and merchandise sales.
Sheer said that as the new kids in town, the Charge wanted to be a team player. They were told to support the project and did so, vowing not to go to the media to air their grievances over the proposed arena size, believing they would ultimately be invited to the table—but no invitation came.
Montreal currently plays in a 10,000-seat stadium, while Vancouver can host 16,000 fans and Minnesota can accommodate 17,000. The Charge sell on average 6,400 tickets for weeknight games and a whopping 8,400 for weekend games. Sheer stated that the league is “exploding,” but that the shrinking of the Lansdowne arena means that the Charge has its “two hands tied behind its back.”
Sheer stated that a 5,500-seat stadium does not allow them to make a profit and said they are open to creative solutions, as they believe in Ottawa, Ottawa fans, and Lansdowne, but would need $1 million in financial aid to be viable. She framed her comment by stating categorically that the Charge is a good community partner and is not looking for a handout, but will work to pay off any injection of cash.
Councillor Catherine Kitts asked whether the Charge would consider relocating to the Canadian Tire Centre, to which Sheer responded that they are committed to Lansdowne until 2031, the end of their contract. Kitts then asked Sheer if she realized that she was jeopardizing the project, and possibly setting it back two years if the current plan heads back to the drawing board to include a larger arena.
Sheer responded that she doesn’t understand why there would be a two-year delay, stating that in her 40-year career managing professional sports teams, she has been involved in “a lot of rebuilds” and has never come across this.
In her final question, Kitts asked Sheer if she would rather that the project not move ahead and stay the same. Sheer responded that it was up to the city.
When further questioned, Sheer stated that if they had the material sooner, they would have raised their concerns sooner. When asked whether ticket prices could go up to offset the reduction in seats, she stated that it is not viable to raise prices so much that fans can attend only one game a season.
Councillor Shawn Menard, who represents the area, said he was disheartened by what he was hearing and stated that his colleagues have “almost no intention to move forward with a different plan.” In other words, if Lansdowne 2.0 proceeds, it will be with a smaller arena.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe spoke about the proposed addition of 1,000 standing-room-only (SRO) seats, which would increase the arena’s capacity to 6,500. Sheer, however, said SRO seating is not a draw for their family-based audience. He also expressed his opinion that if the team continues to grow, it will eventually be looking to attract as many as 13,000 fans per game and would no longer be served by Lansdowne — either before or after the arena rebuild. He suggested that the Canadian Tire Centre could eventually suit their needs.
Sheer reaffirmed the team’s commitment to Ottawa and said, “That would be great for women’s sports.”
