Ottawa Senators’ plan to build downtown arena faces major hurdle

The Ottawa Senators’ plan to build a new downtown arena could be in jeopardy.

The National Capital Commission, the Crown corporation which is responsible for the land at Lebreton Flats, said on Thursday the Senatorsbacked Rendezvous Lebreton Group advised the NCC on Nov. 8 that they had not been able to resolve internal partnership issues.

The NCC says it will proceed with the next steps with Rendezvous or establish a new process for developing the land at their January 2019 meeting.

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Group executive chairman John Ruddy, also a part-owner of the CFL’S Ottawa Redblacks, are the primary partners in the Rendezvous Lebreton Group.

“As I said in the (NCC) board meeting, they have to get their act together plain and simple,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, a non-voting member of the NCC, said at a press conference on Thursday. “Otherwise, I think we’re going to have to move on in January.”

Melnyk, in a statement issued after the NCC announcement, said the Senators still hope to build a downtown arena.

“We’ve championed a downtown sports and entertainment arena and this important civic project, since initiating our proposal in 2014,” Melnyk said. “We continue to be committed to making our vision a reality.”

Trinity Group did not immediately respond for comment.

The NCC announced in January that it had picked Rendezvous for a development deal at Lebreton Flats, an area of underdeveloped land a few blocks southwest of Parliament Hill, that included a new NHL arena for the Senators as well as housing developments.