- Cyril Leeder says 514,000 cubic metres of soil has to come off the LeBreton Flats site first
- The land sale still hasn’t closed a year after the Senators and the NCC signed
- Read below for the arena timeline and how much longer Ottawa stays in Kanata
Senators fans waiting on a downtown rink are going to be waiting a while longer.
A year after Ottawa and the National Capital Commission signed their LeBreton Flats land deal, team president Cyril Leeder says roughly 514,000 cubic metres of soil, most of it contaminated, has to come off that site before anything gets built on it. Estimates put that at about 34,000 dump-truck loads.
Leeder laid out the state of the project to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen ahead of Monday’s one-year mark, and he did not sugarcoat the dig.
“The work is extensive.”
Take a look at CTV Ottawa’s report from the empty lot:
The NCC announced the signed agreement of purchase and sale on Aug. 11, 2025:
That sale still hasn’t formally closed. Michael Andlauer and his partners agreed to pay $37 million for 11 acres, with an option on four more the club hasn’t decided whether to take.
Asked how the pace feels from the inside, Leeder pointed to what nobody sees.
“We’re making good progress. There are meetings two, three or four a week taking place with various stakeholders, and we’re feeling like we’ve made progress.”
Another five months of planning come first at minimum, covering remediation, an economic partnership with the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation, design and financing. Leeder expects a real timetable in the new year. The event centre by itself is 30 to 36 months of construction.
“We’re a bit away from having a firm schedule and when we get there, we’re probably three to four years from being finished.”
Do the math and Ottawa stays at Canadian Tire Centre, its home since 1996, for at least four more seasons. October tickets are already going on sale out in Kanata:
How it all gets paid for is still open. The club has said publicly it won’t ask City of Ottawa taxpayers for money, and Andlauer has said he doesn’t have to own the building. Calgary’s new rink, due in 2027-28, is priced north of $1.2 billion.
Design plans are targeted for early 2027, with a hotel, bars and housing around the arena. Leeder named UBS Arena and Little Caesars Arena as the two buildings Ottawa most wants to borrow from, and Detroit’s in-house practice rink is the piece Steve Staios wants on the site.
Dallas is a step behind on the same road, having just picked a design firm for its proposed Plano arena. Ottawa is the one with the dirt to move.
