The future of the Ottawa Senators will be decided in a boardroom on Elgin street next week.
That may sound a tad dramatic but it’s the truth.
The decision handed down by the LeBreton Flats evaluation committee at next week’s meeting of the NCC Board of Governors represents a fork in the road for the franchise and for the city of Ottawa.
For those of you that need a refresh, we’ve already talked about the two proposals at length here on the site. There’s a preview here. We did a little Q&A with the two bids here. And then I announced my somewhat controversial preference here.
The announcement on Thursday at 2:00 PM, which is open to the public and will be streamed online, is just step one of a lengthy process. Negotiations with the preferred proponent will begin this summer, the federal approval process initiated in the Fall, an official announcement of the successful bid in early 2017 and then the Municipal approvals in 2017. And those are just the known steps in the process.
Wonder if LeBreton news leaks in the near future. Recommendation to the NCC Board was expected “Spring 2016” #Ottawa pic.twitter.com/E5amxyFa9K
— SensChirp (@SensChirp) April 21, 2016
As we learned with the Landsdowne development, other things can and will come up.
Despite what either of the two sides may say in the moments that follow next week’s decision, this process will almost certainly end up with the Ottawa Senators playing at a downtown arena at LeBreton Flats. There may be a few more hurdles if DCDLS and the LeBreton Re-Imagined are the preferred bid but I really do believe the end game remains the same.
It’s tough to call either bid the favourite at this point. While the mainstream media, particularly the sports media, seems to be favour the RendezVous LeBreton group, both options have their advantages. And for what it’s worth, I keep hearing that internally, the Senators aren’t overly confident things will go their way later this week.
As a refresher, here’s how the Evaluation Committee will judge each of the bids.
From the LeBreton RFP, a breakdown of what the NCC will be looking for in each proposal. pic.twitter.com/TJE6EKKs3m — SensChirp (@SensChirp) January 29, 2016
No matter which bid is announced as the winner on Thursday, this process is about to heat up. If the Senators’ bid wins, the discussion about a downtown arena within five years (and who pays for it) becomes a very real possibility. If DCDLS wins, you can expect the rumours of the Senators being for sale (which are already out there), to heat up quickly.
In the words of Eugene Melnyk….buckle up.
I’ll be down there for Thursday’s meeting and will have updates here and on Twitter.
-Pierre Dorion has started his search for a Head Coach and based on some of the first round results, he may be able to add a couple names to his list of candidates. Alain Vigneault and his New York Rangers looked terrible in their first round series against the Penguins and it could result in Vigneault losing his job in New York. He would certainly be a serious candidate for the Ottawa job if he was available. The St. Louis Blues are suddenly in trouble and if they lose that first round series, Ken Hitchcock could also be looking for a job.
