A potential move to LeBreton Flats for the Ottawa Senators is still years away, but questions and concerns are already being raised about what to do with the Canadian Tire Centre.
Being a massive building with wide open parking lots surrounding, Kanata South councillor Allan Hubley has grand ideas for the space.
“There was talk about turning this area into an entertainment district. There was some discussion that it could become a theme park,” Hubley told CTV News on Saturday.
“Ottawa is over a million people, we could use a theme park in this area, it would be well supported. Picture a waterslide coming off the fourth level.”
“I’d like to see it maybe get turned into a casino or a concert venue,” said Sens fan Robbie Williams. “Or you can even do festivals and stuff like that in the parking lot.”
Currently, the Ottawa Senators say they do not have a plan for the CTC if or when they leave the area.
“We know that this is an important site for the city. We have had those conversations, and it’s been clear to us by councilors in this area and the mayor that if and when we vacate this site, we’re going to need to do something special with these lands,” said team CEO Cyril Leeder at Friday’s press conference.
“So that’ll be part of the process for the work that will go on now, that we’ll be able to get into what we will do with this site as we move forward.”
At this time, Hubley believes there is no desire to tear down the CTC if the Senators were to move out.
But the area councillor says “the last thing we want to do is level this and build more housing. We’ve got lots of housing going on.”
Community concerns
But with the eventual move of Ottawa’s NHL team out of Kanata, local businesses fear they will take a hit from lost revenue.
“The last Toronto game we had (in Ottawa), it was about 10 to $12,000 just in jersey sales for the Leafs,” says Matt DiMillo, manager at Pro Hockey Life in the Kanata Centrum shopping centre.
“On a Saturday night at 6 p.m. or 7p.m., you can see all those people leaving those restaurants, making their way (to the game). And on your Saturday afternoon games, for sure, we’ll lose a little bit of the atmosphere because in here we get piles of people coming in.”
During home games, Kanata restaurants are often packed with attending fans getting meals in before puck drop.
“I know we will definitely miss some of those rushes,” said Jamieson Bridal, manager at The Cheshire Cat Pub on Richardson Side Road.
“We are definitely going to be rooting for those years before the move.”
While there are many seasons of pre-game rushes to come before a potential move, the restaurant sees the team’s departure as a backwards step for Ottawa’s west end.