The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced that the Ottawa Charge will not be utilizing the smaller TD Place arena as part of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment project. Amy Scheer, the league’s executive director of business operations, explained on Tuesday that the decision was primarily due to the reduced seating capacity of the new arena, which has been a point of concern in the past.
The approved $419 million redevelopment plan by the Ottawa city council includes a reduction of approximately 3,000 seats at the arena. This decrease in seating capacity would be a step in the wrong direction for the Charge, according to Scheer, who expressed the team’s reluctance to play in a 5,500-seat facility at Lansdowne 2.0.
Scheer emphasized that a smaller arena would not be financially viable for the team, given the strong attendance numbers of the Charge. The team averaged 5,775 fans for weekday games and 8,348 for weekend games last season. Despite the challenges, Scheer stated that the team is committed to staying in Ottawa, where they have received excellent support from fans.
The city estimated that adding 2,000 or more seats to the arena would incur costs ranging from $80 million to $100 million. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe previously insinuated that the league was exerting pressure during negotiations with OSEG to secure a favorable lease agreement. In response, Sutcliffe mentioned ongoing discussions between the city manager, the league, and OSEG to explore potential solutions, with the aim of reaching a mutually beneficial outcome.
As the negotiations progress, Sutcliffe emphasized the importance of refraining from public commentary on the process to allow for productive discussions towards resolving the issue.
