Later today, in one of those dreadfully awkward hybrid meetings, the Ottawa Senators will take another huge step towards a downtown arena.
The National Capital Commission Board of Directors will meet this morning for a public meeting. Normally, these sessions are enough to bore someone to tears. Except today, the three-hour agenda includes a long-awaited update on the future of LeBreton Flats.
By all accounts, that future includes the Ottawa Senators.
According to speculation leading up to this morning’s announcement, the NCC is expected to announce that the Senators are the preferred bid. While the whole thing has been kept under wraps pretty well to this point, that does seem to be the direction this whole thing is headed. And there is talk there may be some other groups involved with the Senators bid.
Bruce Garrioch has a pretty good overview of the process here. We’ll fill some of the blanks later this morning.
You will be forgiven if this “news” is somewhat eye-roll inducing. The LeBreton process has dragged on for years now and it has been an unpleasant roller coaster ride from a Sens fan perspective. In an alternate reality, the Senators are just wrapping up their first season in a new downtown arena, had this process played out the way it was first presented.
It does sound like some good news is coming this morning though. At least until they get shovels in the ground and find out the whole site is a toxic wasteland and realize that the entire downtown core is a ghost town. Anyway.
The discussion on LeBreton is scheduled for 11:15 AM. You can follow along with the proceedings at the following link.
