Senators CEO Cyril Leeder makes big admission on team's new arena plans at LeBreton Flats

The Ottawa Senators don't actually play in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Since 1996, they've played at the Canadian Tire Centre (formerly known as The Palladium, Corel Centre, and Scotiabank Centre), located in the suburb of Kanata and up to a 20-minute drive from downtown Ottawa.

The venue is beginning to show its age, and there have been multiple rumors about the team constructing a brand new venue in a more convenient location for their fan base in the region.

But in a recent update about potential new arena plans, Senators chief executive officer and president, Cyril Leeder, announced that a new building is still several years away from becoming a reality.

“We’re here for five years for sure,” Leeder said. “We have a good place and the building is in decent shape. We were touring some people through and they were all amazed that it’s 30 years old. We’ve kept it up to a good standard. Moving downtown would be good for the club and good for the city, good for our fan base, but we don’t have to move. That’s the message at this point.”

He continued by saying that several things need to happen before a single shovel is even put into the ground to begin construction of a new arena.

“We’re making some progress, steady progress, it’s a big project and we’re in the land-acquisition phase right now,” Leeder said. “Once we get through that, we still have to go through design, financing, approvals and then we’ll get into construction.

"There are a bunch of steps we have to follow here and they’re not small blocks. These are not weekly or monthly updates. Some of them will take months, but it will be years before the shovel actually goes in the ground. And then it’s still going to be 24-to-30 months from the start of construction to completing a new major events centre.”

Whenever shovels eventually begin digging, it's expected to be in the LeBreton Flats district of Ottawa.

The Senators are on the verge of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Senators have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs since their run to Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And while they started the 2024-25 season slowly, they've rebounded and are on the verge of securing their first berth in the postseason since they came within a goal of qualifying for the 2017 Stanley Cup Final.

Should they reach the playoffs, it would mark the first time in the careers of core players like Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle that they've played beyond the regular season.