The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced that the Ottawa Charge will not be relocating to the smaller TD Place arena as part of the approved redevelopment plan for Lansdowne Park. Amy Scheer, the league’s executive director of business operations, stated that the decision was primarily due to the reduced seating capacity of the new arena, which has been a point of concern previously.
Ottawa city council recently approved a $419-million redevelopment plan that includes a reduction of approximately 3,000 seats at the arena. For the Charge, this decrease in seating capacity would represent a step backward, according to Scheer. She emphasized that the team is not willing to play in a 5,500-seat venue and specifically ruled out the possibility of playing at Lansdowne 2.0.
Scheer highlighted the financial impracticality of a smaller arena for the Charge, given their strong fan base. The team averaged 5,775 fans for weekday games and 8,348 for weekend games during the last regular season. Despite the challenges, Scheer expressed the team’s desire to remain in Ottawa, appreciating the support of the fans.
The city estimated that adding 2,000 or more seats to the arena would require an investment of $80 million to $100 million. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe previously suggested that the league is leveraging pressure in negotiations with OSEG for a new lease agreement. In response, Sutcliffe mentioned that the city manager is actively engaged in lease discussions with the league and OSEG to explore potential solutions, with ongoing meetings scheduled.
Sutcliffe refrained from commenting further on the negotiation process, indicating that discussions are ongoing and that public statements would not be appropriate at this stage.