Canada's National Capital Commission on Thursday named Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk’s RendezVous LeBreton group as the "preferred candidate to build up" LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, and it "appears a light rail transit line that doesn’t yet exist was a key factor in the making of that decision," according to a front-page piece by Don Butler of the OTTAWA CITIZEN. The NCC’s board "unanimously approved a staff recommendation Thursday to begin negotiations with Melnyk’s group" opting against the competing bid from the Devcore Canderel DLS Group. But the DCDLS plan "wasn’t rejected outright." The NCC is "keeping it as a backup plan in case negotiations with RendezVous LeBreton go poorly." Negotiations "will start this summer and could continue" into '17, with "federal approvals and the announcement of a successful proponent late next year" or in '18. NCC Exec Dir Stephen Willis "predicted it could take three to five years before construction begins on LeBreton Flats, which has been largely vacant for more than 50 years." There was "some concern" about whether a planned 18,000-seat arena, the future home of the Senators, "was sufficiently distinctive to create a new capital landmark." But the committee "thought the arena was architecturally impressive and liked its placement in the middle of LeBreton Flats" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 4/29).
EMERGING VICTORIOUS: Melnyk said, “This has solidified (the franchise) for a long, long time. Now, more than ever, I feel we’ll bring that Stanley Cup here sooner than you think.” In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch notes the Senators will still call the Canadian Tire Centre home for at least five years, but this deal is "going to put the club on par" with other NHL teams. Melnyk in January said that it "could mean adding as much" as C$10M more to payroll (OTTAWA SUN, 4/29). Also in Ottawa, Mark Sutcliffe writes for the Senators, this "has the potential to be almost as big a moment as when the franchise was awarded." Their small-market business model "can be dramatically altered by the development and the location of the arena" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 4/29). The SUN's Susan Sherring writes "it was hard not to see" the NCC’s selection "as a vindication." Sherring: "Surely this makes up for being snubbed over not getting to bring a casino to the nation’s capital, and it also has to take some of the sting out of not getting the soccer team." This is "clearly the best financial situation for the Sens" (OTTAWA SUN, 4/29). In Ottawa, Don Brennan writes "no one can be sure what would have happened to the Senators" had the NCC not ruled in favor of Melnyk's bid. The loss of big-event revenues to the new arena at LeBreton "would have sunk the Senators" (OTTAWA SUN, 4/29).
