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TD Place Arena

TD Place Arena, formerly known as the Ottawa Civic Centre, is an indoor multi-purpose arena located at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Opened in December 1967, the venue has a fixed seating capacity of 9,862, expandable to over 10,000 with temporary seating. The arena primarily hosts ice hockey, serving as the home of the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League since its inception and, since 2023, the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League. It also accommodates curling events, such as world championships, figure skating, and concerts, leveraging its central location and facilities integrated with the adjacent TD Place Stadium. As part of the 2012–2014 Lansdowne Park revitalization, the arena underwent significant renovations, including updates to its structure beneath the stadium's north stands, enhancing functionality while preserving its role in Ottawa's sports landscape. This project renamed the complex TD Place in 2014 following sponsorship, solidifying its status as a key venue for professional and amateur athletics in the region.

History

Origins and Construction

In the mid-1960s, the City of Ottawa undertook a reconstruction of the sports facilities at Lansdowne Park, a historic site along Bank Street adjacent to the Rideau Canal, to accommodate modern professional and amateur athletics. The project centered on rebuilding the football stadium, but planners incorporated an indoor arena beneath the new north grandstand to provide a dedicated venue for ice hockey, curling, and other indoor events, leveraging the site's constrained footprint for efficient multi-use development. This decision addressed growing demand for year-round sports infrastructure in the capital region, coinciding with the formation of the Ottawa 67's junior hockey team for the 1967–68 Ontario Hockey Association season. Construction of the arena, originally designated the Ottawa Civic Centre, commenced as an integral component of the stadium rebuild, employing a steel-frame structure to support its placement under the grandstand. The facility was completed in 1967 at a total cost of $9.5 million, reflecting the era's emphasis on cost-effective public works amid post-war urban expansion. Architectural features included a low-clearance design necessitated by the subterranean integration, which later influenced operational constraints but enabled the arena's primary role in hosting local hockey leagues from inception. The arena officially opened on December 29, 1967, with an exhibition ice hockey game between the Ottawa 67's and the Pittsburgh Hornets, though permanent seating remained partially unfinished at the time. This debut marked the venue's immediate utility for the 67's inaugural season, underscoring its purpose-built origins for junior and community-level sports rather than NHL-scale operations. Early operations highlighted the arena's foundational role in Ottawa's sports ecosystem, predating major professional franchises in the city.

Early Operations and Tenants

The Ottawa Civic Centre, now known as TD Place Arena, opened on December 29, 1967, hosting its inaugural event as an exhibition ice hockey game between the Ottawa 67's and the Montreal Junior Canadiens, which the 67's lost 4–2 before a capacity crowd despite incomplete permanent seating. Temporary chairs borrowed from local schools and other venues filled the gaps to allow the game to proceed. The arena's construction had delayed the Ottawa 67's, a new expansion franchise in the Ontario Hockey Association (predecessor to the Ontario Hockey League), forcing their first 11 home games that season at the Hull Arena across the Ottawa River. From its debut, the Ottawa 67's served as the primary tenant, establishing the arena as the home for junior ice hockey in Ottawa and drawing consistent local attendance for regular season and playoff games through the late 1960s and 1970s. The team's presence anchored early operations, with the Civic Centre designed specifically to support high school and junior hockey programs alongside broader civic events at the adjacent Lansdowne Park complex. Additional early uses included figure skating practices and competitions, as the facility's ice surface accommodated multiple configurations for winter sports. By the early 1970s, the arena expanded beyond hockey to host rock concerts, reflecting its multipurpose design and growing regional draw; for instance, Led Zeppelin performed there on April 14, 1970, attracting 8,000 attendees in a cold, unheated venue without opening acts. These non-sports events supplemented revenue but did not displace the 67's as the anchor tenant, whose games remained the core of programming amid modest initial attendance that improved with on-ice success. No other professional sports franchises occupied the venue as tenants in the immediate post-opening years, though the facility supported amateur and exhibition athletics aligned with Ottawa's recreational priorities.

Lansdowne Park Redevelopment

The Lansdowne Park redevelopment project, launched as a public-private partnership between the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), aimed to revitalize the aging 40-acre site by modernizing its sports facilities, including the Ottawa Civic Centre arena, while integrating mixed-use commercial and residential developments to fund public improvements. OSEG, comprising local business leaders and owners of the Ottawa 67's hockey team, proposed the plan in response to the site's deteriorating infrastructure, where maintenance costs for existing buildings alone were projected to exceed $20 million over the next decade without intervention. Ottawa City Council approved the partnership on April 17, 2012, after a competitive bidding process and public consultations that addressed concerns over privatization and heritage preservation. The overall project budget was initially estimated at around $370 million, with OSEG covering development costs in exchange for revenue-sharing rights and land development opportunities. Construction began in October 2012, with phased work to minimize disruptions to ongoing events; the Ottawa 67's temporarily relocated to other venues during peak renovation periods. The Civic Centre renovations focused on addressing functional obsolescence, including its notoriously low ceiling height under the adjacent stadium grandstands, which had limited sightlines and event versatility since its 1967 opening. Upgrades encompassed new seating installations, digital signage enhancements, ceiling tile replacements for improved acoustics and aesthetics, and extensive structural repairs such as $24 million in fixes for rusty steel reinforcements and roof membrane replacements to prevent water ingress. These works, completed by early 2014, increased the arena's capacity to approximately 9,500 for hockey configurations while maintaining its role as home to the Ottawa 67's and enabling broader event hosting. The renamed TD Place Arena (sponsored by TD Bank Group) reopened in 2014 as part of the site's broader transformation, which also included a rebuilt south-side stadium grandstand and an expanded urban park. The project faced cost overruns, including a $12 million exceedance reported in September 2012 due to tender results and legal delays, and an additional $17 million for unanticipated Civic Centre roof repairs discovered during demolition phases. A 2015 settlement resolved disputes between the city and OSEG over these repair expenses, attributing much of the work to pre-existing deferred maintenance rather than project-induced damage. Despite these challenges, the redevelopment preserved the arena's core footprint without full demolition, extending its operational life and integrating it into a vibrant, revenue-generating district that boosted local economic activity through retail, housing, and enhanced public access to the Rideau Canal waterfront.

Post-Redevelopment Era

The TD Place Arena resumed operations in the 2014–15 season following the completion of the Lansdowne Park revitalization project, with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League returning as the primary tenant after a two-year relocation to the smaller Raymond Chabot Citigroup Arena in Gatineau during construction. The arena, integrated beneath the north stands of the adjacent TD Place Stadium, maintained its role as a multi-purpose indoor venue with a hockey capacity of around 5,000 seats, supporting the 67's regular-season games and playoffs. The 67's have consistently drawn strong attendance, benefiting from the upgraded facilities and central urban location, which enhanced accessibility via Ottawa's transit network. Since reopening, the arena has hosted a variety of sporting events beyond hockey, including the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship from April 1 to 9, where twelve national teams competed, with Scotland defeating Canada in the final. This event marked a significant international showcase, drawing crowds to the venue's curling configuration and underscoring its adaptability for sheet-ice sports. Additional tenants have included the Ottawa Blackjacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) for indoor basketball since 2019 and, starting in the 2023–24 season, the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Concerts and other non-sporting events, such as performances by artists like Foreigner and The Beaches, have also utilized the space, though the arena's mid-sized scale limits it to regional rather than major touring acts. As of 2025, the arena faces impending replacement under the Lansdowne 2.0 initiative, approved by the City of Ottawa, which proposes demolishing the current structure to construct a new 5,500-seat event centre alongside renovated stadium stands and mixed-use developments, aiming to address aging infrastructure while preserving event continuity. This follows operational challenges noted in prior years, including facilities limitations that prompted discussions of modernization to better serve tenants like the 67's and emerging leagues. The project, led by the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), is phased to minimize disruptions, with construction targeted to maintain the site's role in Ottawa's sports landscape.

Physical Description

Capacity and Seating

TD Place Arena has a fixed seating capacity of 9,862 for ice hockey configurations. This includes multi-tiered seating with a lower bowl surrounding the rink on three sides and an upper deck providing elevated views. The arena's integration beneath the TD Place Stadium's north grandstand creates a notably lower ceiling on the arena's short side, impacting sightlines and acoustics in those upper sections. For concerts and end-stage events, capacity increases to approximately 10,000 through the addition of temporary floor seating and standing areas. The seating layout features sections numbered in the 100s for the lower level and 200s for the upper level, with premium club seating and suites available along the sides. Accessibility accommodations include designated wheelchair positions and companion seats distributed across both levels. Renovations completed in 2014 as part of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment modernized the seating with improved comfort and sightlines but did not significantly alter the overall capacity from its pre-renovation figure of around 10,000 with temporary additions. Recent assessments describe the hockey capacity as approximately 8,500 to 9,500 seats, reflecting variations in configuration and usage.

Architectural Features

The TD Place Arena, originally opened as the Ottawa Civic Centre in December 1967, incorporates a cantilevered roof design characterized by a massive overhang extending 170 degrees, supported by eight towers each 120 feet (37 meters) tall. This engineering feat, highlighted by structural fabricator Dominion Bridge, eliminates internal support columns to ensure unobstructed sightlines across the ice surface and seating bowl. Integrated beneath the north grandstand of the adjacent TD Place Stadium, the arena's architecture reflects its origins within the broader Lansdowne Park complex, resulting in a compact layout with ceiling heights as low as 20 feet (6 meters) in portions under the stands. This configuration fosters a more intimate atmosphere for events but imposes spatial limitations on vertical expansion and equipment installation. As part of the 2012–2014 Lansdowne Park redevelopment, the arena underwent interior renovations that preserved the original concrete and steel framework while introducing updated architectural elements, including reconfiguration of seating tiers for improved accessibility and sightlines, new acoustic ceiling panels, and integrated digital displays along concourses. These modifications increased the fixed seating capacity to 8,586 with additional standing room options, without altering the exterior envelope or roof structure.

Technical Infrastructure

The TD Place Arena maintains a standard North American regulation ice surface measuring 200 feet long by 85 feet wide, compliant with requirements for professional and junior hockey leagues such as the Ontario Hockey League. The rink is supported by a conventional refrigeration system typical of mid-20th-century arenas, with dasher boards and glass enclosures upgraded during the 2012–2014 renovations to meet safety standards, though the underlying ice-making infrastructure has not been fully modernized to eliminate operational inefficiencies like uneven freezing noted in facility assessments. Structural constraints from the original 1967 roof design limit overhead load capacities, preventing installation of a center-hung scoreboard or extensive concert rigging, as the truss system cannot safely bear weights exceeding thresholds established during post-renovation engineering reviews. Video display and scoring systems are instead affixed to the south bulkhead above the lower seating bowl, consisting of a primary LED videoboard flanked by auxiliary screens and traditional digital scoreclocks positioned between blue lines for visibility. The 2012–2014 revitalization, integrated with the broader Lansdowne Park redevelopment, included mechanical and electrical engineering upgrades by Smith + Andersen, encompassing enhanced HVAC distribution for consistent arena climate control, improved power infrastructure for high-demand events, and LED lighting arrays to reduce energy consumption while supporting broadcast-quality illumination. These modifications addressed obsolescent systems from the arena's pre-renovation era but have been critiqued in a 2019 functional obsolescence analysis for falling short of peer facilities in scalability for multimedia productions and adaptive event technologies. Audio reinforcement relies on distributed speaker arrays optimized for the enclosed bowl geometry, though acoustic modeling limitations from the fixed architecture constrain sound uniformity during non-hockey configurations.

Usage and Events

Ice Hockey

TD Place Arena, opened in December 1967 as the Ottawa Civic Centre, has been a central venue for ice hockey in Ottawa, primarily serving as the home of the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League since the team's founding that year. The arena's hockey configuration accommodates approximately 9,000 spectators, with a rink measuring 60 meters by 30 meters. From 1992 to 1995, it hosted the NHL's Ottawa Senators during the construction of their permanent arena, now Canadian Tire Centre, marking a brief period of professional major league hockey at the facility. Since the 2023–24 season, the arena has also been the home ice for the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League. The venue has hosted numerous international tournaments and exhibitions, including the opening game of the inaugural Canada Cup on September 2, 1976, where Canada defeated Finland 11–2, and additional matches during the 1981 Canada Cup. It served as the site for the first IIHF Women's World Championship in 1990 and multiple World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, with Group B games of the 2025 tournament held there. The arena's role in junior and international hockey underscores its significance in developing talent and hosting competitive events, though its aging infrastructure, including a lower ceiling under the grandstand, has been noted for creating an intimate atmosphere during games.

Other Sports

TD Place Arena serves as the home venue for the Ottawa Blackjacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), which began play in 2019. The team utilizes the arena's configuration for basketball, accommodating crowds for regular season games and playoffs. The facility has hosted lacrosse events, including National Lacrosse League (NLL) matchups such as the December 5, 2020, game between the Calgary Roughnecks and Toronto Rock as part of the "Lansdowne LAX Showdown." These events demonstrate the arena's adaptability for box lacrosse with temporary flooring over the ice surface. Curling competitions represent a significant non-hockey use, highlighted by the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship held from April 1 to 9, featuring top international teams and drawing substantial attendance. The event, originally scheduled for another location but relocated to Ottawa, underscored the arena's suitability for sheeted ice configurations required for the sport. Multiple sheets can be set up within the arena, supporting both competitive draws and practice sessions.

Concerts and Non-Sports Events

The TD Place Arena, originally opened as the Ottawa Civic Centre in December 1967, has served as a prominent venue for rock and pop concerts since its inception. Early performances included Led Zeppelin's appearance on April 14, 1970, which attracted approximately 8,000 spectators despite the band's reported fatigue from prior touring. Throughout the 1970s, the arena hosted major acts such as Queen, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Marley and the Wailers, contributing to Ottawa's live music scene amid the era's rock dominance. Post-2012 redevelopment, the facility experienced an uptick in concert bookings, reflecting improved acoustics and staging capabilities. In October 2016, it accommodated the sold-out I Love the '90s tour, headlined by Vanilla Ice alongside Our Lady Peace and other nostalgic acts, signaling a deliberate push by promoters to fill the mid-sized venue with heritage tours amid a broader trend of increased bookings. Subsequent events included Canadian rock outfit The Glorious Sons with JJ Wilde on April 16, 2022, during the former's Unfinished Business Tour. In addition to music, the arena has facilitated non-sporting spectacles like professional wrestling house shows, such as a WWF event on October 24, 1987. It has also supported conventions, exhibits, and fair-related indoor programming, including musical performances tied to the annual Ottawa SuperEX from 1967 until the event's 2010 cancellation due to venue uncertainties. Comedy residencies and special engagements, exemplified by John Mulaney's Mister Whatever show scheduled for October 20, 2025, underscore its versatility for theatrical and entertainment formats.

Tenants

Current Primary Tenants

The primary tenant of TD Place Arena is the Ottawa 67's, a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), which has used the venue as its home since the arena's opening on December 29, 1967. The team, owned by the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, plays approximately 34 regular-season home games annually, with a seating capacity of around 8,600 for hockey configurations. Attendance has averaged between 4,000 and 6,000 fans per game in recent seasons, reflecting steady local interest in junior hockey. The Ottawa Charge, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) franchise established for the 2023–24 season, joined as a secondary primary tenant, hosting all home games at TD Place Arena. In their inaugural 2023–24 season, the Charge drew an average paid attendance of 3,179, increasing to over 7,000 seated fans per game in 2024–25, bolstered by the league's growing profile and shared facilities with the 67's. The team's lease aligns with ongoing discussions about arena redevelopment, positioning it as a key user amid capacity constraints. The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) also serve as a primary tenant, utilizing the arena for their summer-season home games since the team's founding in 2019. The basketball club plays about 20 regular-season contests there, converting the ice surface to a court, with capacities adjusted to approximately 4,000–5,000 seats to accommodate the sport's requirements. This arrangement complements the hockey-focused calendar, filling off-season slots.

Historical Tenants

The TD Place Arena, originally opened as the Ottawa Civic Centre in December 1967, served as home to several professional ice hockey teams during its early decades. These historical tenants primarily operated in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL), reflecting Ottawa's intermittent attempts to sustain professional hockey franchises amid financial and attendance challenges. The Ottawa Nationals were the arena's first professional hockey tenant, competing in the inaugural 1972–73 WHA season with a record of 35 wins, 39 losses, and 4 ties. The team, which featured notable players and drew initial interest as part of the rival league to the NHL, relocated to Toronto after one season to become the Toros, citing insufficient local support. In 1975–76, the franchise formerly known as the Denver Spurs moved to Ottawa mid-season and rebranded as the Ottawa Civics, playing their brief tenure at the Civic Centre. The Civics managed only one victory in 11 games hosted in Ottawa before folding on January 14, 1976, due to ongoing financial difficulties that plagued the relocation. The Ottawa Senators of the NHL occupied the arena from the franchise's expansion entry into the league in 1992 through the 1994–95 season, hosting their inaugural game on October 8, 1992, against the Montreal Canadiens. With a capacity of approximately 10,000 seats, the venue accommodated the team's early years until the opening of the Palladium (now Canadian Tire Centre) in January 1996, after which the Senators permanently relocated.

Controversies and Criticisms

Maintenance and Structural Issues

The TD Place Arena, originally constructed in 1967 as the Ottawa Civic Centre, has faced persistent structural and maintenance challenges due to its age and design. Chronic roof leaks have plagued the facility, leading to frequent water damage and the need for maintenance crews to replace ceiling tiles before every event. These leaks contributed to extensive corrosion in the structural steel beams and decking over the ice pad, discovered during the 2012-2013 renovations, which required an additional $17 million in repairs to restore load-bearing capacity. The corrosion was exacerbated by prior water ingress, with earlier inspections underestimating the deterioration's severity. Post-renovation, leaks have continued, as evidenced by incidents such as a roof leak during preparations for the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, and ongoing issues prompting portable toilet deployments for events due to inadequate facilities. The arena lacks dehumidification systems, compromising ice quality, while the HVAC system generates excessive noise that interferes with concerts. Structural limitations include insufficient load-bearing capacity for modern scoreboards or heavy rigging, narrow aisles under 1.1 meters (below code requirements), and condemned suites non-compliant with current building codes. A 2019 functional obsolescence report highlighted corrosion in steel components, poor drainage causing water damage, and outdated plumbing and HVAC systems necessitating frequent repairs. Accessibility deficiencies persist, with only one elevator, 45 fewer wheelchair spots than required, and imbalanced restroom facilities (85 for men versus 25 for women, against code minima of 34 each). Experts, including a Rossetti assessment, describe the arena as antiquated, with concourse space at 3.2 square feet per person—below modern standards of 4-4.5—and recommend replacement over remediation due to the scope of issues. While some stakeholders argue the structure remains safe and maintainable for decades with targeted investments, city assessments in 2021 estimated $32.181 million over 10 years for repairs to delay obsolescence, underscoring the facility's deteriorating condition after nearly 60 years of service.

Redevelopment and Capacity Debates

The TD Place Arena, originally constructed in 1967 as the Ottawa Civic Centre, has faced ongoing discussions about major redevelopment since the early 2010s, driven by its aging infrastructure and functional limitations. Initial revitalization efforts under the Lansdowne Partnership, approved in 2012, focused primarily on the adjacent Frank Clair Field stadium and parklands, with only incremental upgrades to the arena, such as improved seating and concourses, failing to address core obsolescence. By 2021, independent assessments highlighted the facility's deterioration, including leaking ceilings, recurrent mold issues, condemned luxury suites due to fire code violations, and inadequate amenities like insufficient washrooms for large crowds, prompting calls for full replacement rather than continued patchwork repairs. Proponents of redevelopment, including the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), argued that the 55-year-old structure was nearing the end of its useful life, with maintenance costs escalating and the arena lacking modern features like premium corporate boxes essential for revenue generation. Capacity debates intensified with the proposed Lansdowne 2.0 project, announced in 2023 and advancing toward council approval in late 2025, which envisions demolishing the existing arena and north-side stadium stands to build a new multi-purpose event centre. The plan specifies a hockey seating capacity of approximately 5,500, expandable to 6,500 with flexible and retractable options, a reduction from the current arena's roughly 9,000 seats. City officials and OSEG justified the smaller footprint by citing average attendances for primary tenants like the Ottawa 67's (Ontario Hockey League), which hovered around 3,900 per game in recent seasons, and emphasizing cost efficiencies in a $419 million project where public funding covers less than one-third. However, critics, including PWHL executives, argued this represents a "huge step back" that undermines viability for high-drawing teams, noting the Ottawa Charge's regular-season averages of 7,496 in 2023-24 and 6,888 in 2024-25, with playoff sellouts exceeding 8,000 and a league-record 8,318 attendance on January 2, 2024. Opposition from fan groups like the Red Scarf Union and Ottawa City Councillor Sean Devine highlighted risks to retaining professional tenants, with the PWHL warning that reduced capacity could force relocation, as standing-room options (up to 750 additional spots) do not align with league standards or sustained revenue needs. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe countered by focusing on non-playoff figures and projecting broader event versatility, but excluded high-attendance playoff data, which included crowds of 8,576, 8,424, and 8,295 in 2024-25 Charge home games. These debates underscore tensions between fiscal restraint—aiming to avoid overbuilding for inconsistent demand—and accommodating proven fan support, particularly for women's professional hockey, amid broader concerns that a diminished venue could limit future expansion or attract lower-tier events.

Future Developments

Proposed Lansdowne 2.0 Plans

The Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment project, proposed by the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) in partnership with the City of Ottawa, includes replacing the aging TD Place Arena—built in 1967 and renovated in 2012—with a new 5,500-seat event centre designed for ice hockey, curling, and other events. The new facility aims to address the current arena's functional obsolescence, including outdated infrastructure, energy inefficiency, and limited capacity for modern professional sports requirements. Construction would occur in phases, starting with the event centre to minimize disruptions to tenants like the Ottawa 67's and Ottawa Gee-Gees, with completion targeted for fall 2027. The proposed event centre features modern amenities such as improved accessibility standards, universal washrooms, dedicated family zones, and enhanced energy efficiency to meet contemporary building codes. It would seat approximately 5,500 to 5,850 spectators, with configurations allowing for expansion to 6,000 for select events, though this has drawn criticism from the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), which stated the design is "not viable" for sustaining professional operations due to insufficient permanent seating for league standards. The overall project cost is estimated at $418.8 million, with $313 million allocated to the event centre and adjacent north-side stadium stands replacement at Frank Clair Field; financing involves public-private contributions, including OSEG covering overruns beyond the city's $127 million commitment. City council was scheduled to consider final approval on November 7, 2025, following public consultations and a staff report outlining the phased approach, which also incorporates additional residential towers and mixed-use developments to fund infrastructure upgrades without increasing taxpayer burden. Proponents argue the upgrades will extend the site's viability as Ottawa's premier sports and entertainment venue, building on the original 2012 Lansdowne redevelopment, while critics question the capacity and long-term economic returns given the arena's niche focus.

Ongoing Challenges and Alternatives

The proposed Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment includes replacing the existing TD Place Arena, which has a capacity of approximately 9,500 seats, with a new event centre seating 5,850 for hockey, expandable to 6,600 with standing room. This reduction has drawn sharp criticism from Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) executives for the Ottawa Charge, who described it as a "huge step back" that undermines the team's viability by limiting attendance growth, corporate partnerships, and revenue potential. The Charge have demonstrated strong demand, with average regular-season attendance exceeding 5,500 in their inaugural year and sellouts during playoffs, including over 8,000 fans per game in the 2025 postseason—figures that surpass the proposed fixed seating. Opposition extends to fans and local stakeholders, including the Red Scarf Union supporter group, who argue that downsizing contradicts the evidenced popularity of women's hockey in Ottawa and risks stunting the sport's momentum in the city. Ottawa Ward 14 Councillor Riley Brockington has voiced concerns over the reduced capacity's adverse effects on event viability and economic benefits, emphasizing that the design fails to accommodate proven crowds. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has countered by citing lower regular-season averages to justify the smaller footprint, excluding playoff data from his assessments, though critics contend this understates the full demand profile. Broader fiscal challenges include the overall project's estimated costs, with some residents decrying it as a misallocation amid competing municipal priorities like infrastructure and housing, though these critiques often lack detailed quantification in public discourse. Alternatives advocated by detractors include designing a larger arena with at least 8,000 seats to align with attendance trends and future scalability, potentially through expanded construction at Lansdowne or site reconfiguration to avoid capacity cuts. PWHL representatives have implied openness to relocation if the current proposal proceeds unchanged, highlighting risks to the league's presence in Ottawa without adjustments. Other suggestions involve prioritizing renovations to the existing 48-year-old facility over full replacement, addressing obsolescence like inadequate washrooms and accessibility without downsizing, though city reports deem the structure functionally outdated and in need of eventual substitution. These options remain under debate as the plan advances toward a November 2025 council vote, with no consensus on feasibility or funding.

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