The new C$217M Palladium in Ottawa will open Wednesday night
when the Senators meet the Canadiens. The building has 150
private boxes on three levels and 18,566 upholstered seats. But
there are "grumblings in the business community" that Owner
Roderick Bryden's Ottawa-based company, Stormont Capital Corp.,
has "stretched itself so thin to get the Palladium built that it
has not been paying some bills -- offering creditors empty seats
at the Palladium in lieu of cash." A third of the boxes are
still unsold and tickets sales are "lagging," raising questions
of how long the team can stay in Ottawa. As of last week, the
team has sold around 9,300 season tickets, "well below their
initial 13,000 target, but still an improvement over the 6,600
they sold last year." Around 90 boxes have been sold on 5-to-10
year contracts for C$90-120,000 a year. In an interview with the
GLOBE & MAIL, Bryden said they may be behind on some payments, he
would like to sell half of the team, but that the Senators will
be "here for generations." Barrie McKenna reports Ogden Corp. is
"waiting in the wings" if Bryden is not be successful (Toronto
GLOBE & MAIL, 1/16).
