The Ottawa 67’s have made a deal to move from the Ottawa Civic Centre to Scotiabank Place fore the next two seasons.
The Ottawa 67’s have struck a deal with the Ottawa Senators, allowing the team to relocate to Scotiabank Place for the next two seasons while construction on the Lansdowne Park redevelopment is underway.
The move from the Ottawa Civic Centre to Scotiabank Place is contingent on the city’s approval of the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park.
If the project is finally approved in the upcoming months, as is expected, the construction will be completed in 2014.
“Lansdowne is going to be a warzone during construction,” says Randy Burgess, vice-president of the 67’s. “Staying at the Civic Centre just wasn’t the best option for the fans.”
But the relocation has left many loyal 67’s fans unhappy.
“It’s frustrating,” says Adrian O’Donnell, who has been a 67’s season ticket holder since 1990.
O’Donnell’s problem with the 67’s move to Kanata is about more than the change in location of home ice, which will no longer a short walk away from his Glebe home.
O’Donnell is worried about the scheduling, and whether he will still be able to bring his two young children to the games.
Because the 67’s have priority over ice time at the Civic Centre, their home games are regularly scheduled for Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.
But now, it’s the Ottawa Senators that will have priority – making it more difficult for the 67’s to have consistently scheduled games.
“If the team has a lot of games during the week throughout the season, I won’t be able to take my kids,” says O’Donnell.
“Season tickets wouldn’t be worth it for me then.”
Burgess says scheduling will be a challenge, but he is confident the final schedule will be as accommodating as possible.
“The organization that puts together the NHL's schedule also puts together the Ontario Hockey League’s,” says Burgess. “We’re hopeful that our schedule will look close to what we have now.”
Patty Whais, a 67’s season ticket holder, is concerned about the change in atmosphere at Scotiabank Place.
“Jeff Hunt and the 67’s have done such a great job creating a fun, family atmosphere in the Civic Centre,” says Whais. “I just hope it can be maintained in Scotiabank Place.”
O’Donnell agrees, but he thinks it will be more difficult in such a big arena.
“If there are 4,000 people packed into the Civic Centre for a game, you have a very rowdy crowd,” says O’Donnell.
“But 4,000 people in Scotiabank Place is considerably dead.”
While the 67’s are not forecasting larger crowds for next season, the organization is hopeful it will be able to attract new fans based on its new location at Scotiabank Place.
“The move provides us with an opportunity to reach a new audience,” says Burgess.
“Now, it will be easier for people from Kanata, Stittsville, Smiths Falls, Almonte and other places to come see some OHL hockey.”
The 67’s are also planning on utilizing OC Transpo’s 400-series buses, which would run from various locations across the city to Scotiabank Place on game nights, That would make it easier for fans to get to games.
Burgess says moving the 67’s to Scotiabank Place is the best option, for both the organization and the fans.
Scotiabank Place’s state of the art technology, including its new scoreboard, will help accommodate the team’s sponsors better than before.
As for the fans, Burgess says they will still get a great experience.
“If you want to provide an entertaining atmosphere within the City of Ottawa, Scotiabank Place is your best option,” says Burgess.
“We understand it will be a challenge for many fans to see the team at Scotiabank Place, but we’ll do all we can to make it easy for them, and hope to see them again when we return to the Civic Centre.”