Ottawa Charge won’t play at smaller Lansdowne arena, PWHL says

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) says the Ottawa Charge will not play at the smaller TD Place arena, which is part of a recently approved plan to redevelop parts of Lansdowne Park.

Amy Scheer, the league's executive director of business operations, made the comments Tuesday afternoon, citing venue capacity as a reason. New arena size cause concern earlier.

The $419 million renovation plan recently approved by Ottawa City Council reduces the arena's seating capacity by about 3,000.

For the Prosecution, this would mean moving backwards, Shear said.

“We will not play in a 5,500-seat building,” she told reporters virtually. “We will not play in Lansdowne 2.0… That is the only option that is not being considered.”

Last month, ahead of city councilors' final vote on the project, Scheer told CBC that a smaller arena didn't make financial sense for the team given the Charge's drawing power.

In last year's regular season games, the Charge averaged 5,775 fans on weekdays and 8,348 on weekends.

Scheer said Tuesday that the team does not want to leave the city.

“We chose Ottawa for a reason, the fans there have been wonderfully supportive and we would like to find a solution to help us stay in Ottawa,” she said.

“But the city hasn’t made it easy for us, and that’s disappointing.”

The city estimates adding 2,000 or more seats to the arena would cost between $80 million and $100 million.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe previously suggested The league is “pressuring” during negotiations with OSEG over a new lease “to get the best deal possible.”

In an emailed statement Tuesday, Sutcliffe said the city manager is working with the league and OSEG on lease negotiations “and trying to find solutions.” He added that some meetings have taken place and more are planned.

“While negotiations are ongoing, I do not think it is appropriate for any of us to comment publicly on the process,” Sutcliffe said.