Canada’s 150th anniversary year is going to be full of celebrations and high-profile events, and the Ottawa Senators have made it clear they want to be a special part of the capital’s big party in 2017.
The Sens have been pushing for an outdoor game against the Montreal Canadiens to mark the 100th anniversary of the first NHL match, played in Ottawa on Dec. 19, 1917.
Hosting the event would involve major investments from local businesses and construction trades, and the surrounding festivities would be a boon for hotels, restaurants and other local enterprises. That’s why it’s important to get this right.
Senators president Cyril Leeder said the team has only one location in mind for the game: Parliament Hill.
It would make for quite the spectacle — the Sens taking on the Habs against the snowy backdrop of the Peace Tower, celebrating the nation’s favourite pastime.
Everyone from Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has agreed that it doesn’t get more Canadian than that.
However, there is a long list of obstacles standing in the way of this sensational idea becoming a reality.
Setting up temporary seating, washrooms and concession stands that are built to accomodate tens of thousands of people would be tricky, as would be security and emergency arrangements. Doing so during the winter makes things even more complicated.
On top of these logistical problems, the NHL would also need permission from an interdepartmental government committee to host the game.
The rules governing activity on Parliament Hill prohibit commercial advertising, alcohol sales, and other key parts of a professional hockey game. While these rules can be waived, there is no guarantee the committee would agree to overlook several of them at once.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has said that just because the game might not happen on Parliament Hill, it doesn’t mean the game couldn’t be played somewhere else in the city.
Leeder, on the other hand, said in October that the franchise has not considered any other venues for the game.
This lack of a back-up plan is cause for concern, especially considering how profitable the event could be for local businesses.
The Canadiens draw a sellout crowd every time they are in Ottawa, and with their team playing in a Heritage Classic only two hours away, Montrealers would surely flock to the capital to join in the festivities.
Should things not work out on the Hill, the obvious choice is TD Place, and the Senators should already be looking into it.
While it would not be quite as dramatic a backdrop as Parliament, a revitalized Lansdowne Park would be a great venue for the landmark outdoor game.
That is not to say negotiations between the Senators and The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group would be amicable. Only eight years ago, Sens owner Eugene Melnyk made a bid for a soccer stadium in Kanata before losing out to OSEG’s winning proposal to renovate Lansdowne.
As competitors in Ottawa’s professional sports market, it would take a lot of compromising for both parties to reach an agreement.
Finding a way to share revenue would not be easy, and it’s a headache the Sens would rather avoid by just building their own temporary stadium.
But the club should not gamble with the Heritage Classic. Wasting a historic opportunity out of stubbornness would be embarrassing for the franchise and devastating for hockey fans, local business and the city as a whole.
A Parliament Hill-or-bust approach to the Heritage Classic could easily backfire, and that’s a risk the Senators — and all of Ottawa — can’t afford to take.