Ottawa Senators Kanata Arena

[Boxster]

Imagine what the attendance could be for the Sens if Scotia Place would be closer to downtown. What a mistake putting it in Kanata!!!

[Beatrix]

Originally Posted by Boxster

Imagine what the attendance could be for the Sens if Scotia Place would be closer to downtown. What a mistake putting it in Kanata!!!

Shame they couldn't integrate an 19,000 seat arena in the landsdown development. Sounds farfetched, but it would make the whole Landsdown development self-sustainable all year-round?

Are there any examples of stadiums that can double as arena's during the winter?

[Buggys]

Maybe a smaller version of the Skydome?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Beatrix

Shame they couldn't integrate an 19,000 seat arena in the landsdown development. Sounds farfetched, but it would make the whole Landsdown development self-sustainable all year-round?

Are there any examples of stadiums that can double as arena's during the winter?

I'm sure it's possible, but not efficient. Just look at when the NHL Heritage Classic was in Montreal, the NHL rink looks lost on the football field;

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I'm sure it's possible, but not efficient. Just look at when the NHL Heritage Classic was in Montreal, the NHL rink looks lost on the football field;

That's not Montreal. The Heritage Classic has never been held there.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Beatrix

Shame they couldn't integrate an 19,000 seat arena in the landsdown development. Sounds farfetched, but it would make the whole Landsdown development self-sustainable all year-round?

Are there any examples of stadiums that can double as arena's during the winter?

Yeah, it would have to be a domed stadium. Seating configuration would have ot be seriously adaptable because of the differences in the sizes of the playing surfaces.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Acajack

That's not Montreal. The Heritage Classic has never been held there.

I though they had it for their 100th in 2009-2010... I guess not. That said, you're right; that picture is actually Calgary in 2011. Sorry for the mistake.

[mac_junkie1]

Ah, this place. Yea, driving from Orleans, this place 20 years later is still in the "middle of nowhere". Its a uselessly long drive for nothing. I limit myself to going there. I don't care for the Sens, so I don't waste anytime going there for that, and we barely have any decent shows that go there, unless you want Justin Bieber twice in a year... I spend more time in Montreal and even Toronto because they have good shows and AMAZING entertainment placement. Lebreton Flats would've been an amazing place for an arena if the NCC hadn't been such douche bags about it for all these years. It was cleared in 1965 for a massive highway that was never built and then left to rot. Had the City & the NCC struck a deal with building an arena there, the NCC wouldn't be in such financial troubles right now. They could've worked out a great deal, but whatever, they've never been one to know what their doing. Just look at the state of our downtown... Its sad, and this is considered the Capital... OUCH. Parliament is so poorly lit, how can any tourist enjoy it at night. Still using those dim orange lights from the 80s. Light that place up with nice LED's Illuminate that beauty. That show in the summer is the only time you see how beautiful the Parliament is at night when they project the place with bright lights. Its stunning architecture shines. Our city doesn't know what its doing with itself. So much potential.

[orleans_man]

There is surely an issue in that the arena itself is 25 km from downtown. However this is one thing, the other is the fact that 98% of the 1.3 Million people in the Sens market live east of it a whole other problem.

My only hope that in the next 20 years or so as the talk of “arena” replacement or modernization come up that serious consideration is given to another location.

There are so many problems with the location I don't even know where to start. I have lived both downtown and now in Orleans. From either of those locations it's a pain to get there and back.

When the game or and event ends everyone is heading out the same way. I rarely go these days, but I can never decide if I should take the 45 minute bus ride to a park and ride or spend 45 minutes in a parking lot. But that is the quintessential “Canadian Tire Centre Experience” – can’t get away from it. Eugene Melnyk talks about improving the “experience” and no matter what he does between 7:30 and 10:00 pm, he can’t change what happens in the hours before and after.

I can only imagine how everyone (other than the handful of people in the Kanata/Stittsville suburbs) feel about access to the location. It must surely have an impact on their revenue stream, and I mean a significant impact. It surely keeps me and many people I know from going.

The whole thing just makes me sad for this city...

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by Beatrix

Shame they couldn't integrate an 19,000 seat arena in the landsdown development. Sounds farfetched, but it would make the whole Landsdown development self-sustainable all year-round?

Are there any examples of stadiums that can double as arena's during the winter?

The Civic Centre is already there, and they have a solid tenant in the 67's. They may also have another tenant in the SkyHawks basketball team, depending on the viability of the team and the NBL Canada.

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Yeah, it would have to be a domed stadium. Seating configuration would have ot be seriously adaptable because of the differences in the sizes of the playing surfaces.

St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning for a few years. The seating wasn't ideal, but it did allow them to sell $99 season tickets in the upper reaches to try to get fans interested.

It seems to work a bit better with domed stadiums for basketball than it does for hockey. Or at least it has been done more often. The Carrier Dome in Syracuse hosts football and basketball, the Alamodome in San Antonio used to host the Spurs, the Raptors played at the SkyDome, the Silverdome was home to the Pistons, and the New Orleans Superdome hosted the New Orleans Jazz for a few seasons before they moved to Utah. With the exception of Syracuse, most of those those teams moved to more intimate venues.

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by orleans_man

My only hope that in the next 20 years or so as the talk of “arena” replacement or modernization come up that serious consideration is given to another location.

The fact that in recent years Melnyk has proposed a soccer stadium, an entertainment village and a casino for the land around the current location tells me he isn't interested in another location at this time. That could change 10-15 years down the road, if he renews his commitment and decides that since it has been a struggle to do more development there, he could do it somewhere else. But for today, the arena relocation talk seems premature.

[Boxster]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Yeah, it would have to be a domed stadium. Seating configuration would have ot be seriously adaptable because of the differences in the sizes of the playing surfaces.

Forget rearanging the seats.....just increase the ice surface.

[adam-machiavelli]

It should be moved to Hurdman Park.

[J.OT13]

I live in the west end and I still don't like the idea of the trip to the Corel Centre. Bussing's not an option and driving is still hell as soon as I hit Palladium. The place needs to be central so that people come and go by 4 different directions. Having it at Bayview, LeBreton or Hurdman would also greatly increase the number of people taking transit to the games and actually reduce rush hour traffic on event days (if the game starts at 7:30pm, might as well stay downtown after work).

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by JeffB

St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning for a few years. The seating wasn't ideal, but it did allow them to sell $99 season tickets in the upper reaches to try to get fans interested.

I saw a game there, and it wasn't all that bad. But our seats were located where the rink was close to the seating so it was similar to a real arena. Gosh, that was quite a while ago...

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

I saw a game there, and it wasn't all that bad. But our seats were located where the rink was close to the seating so it was similar to a real arena. Gosh, that was quite a while ago...

Wasn't Tropicana field an open air stadium? Even with fake ice, how can you play hockey in full gear in Florida heat?

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Wasn't Tropicana field an open air stadium? Even with fake ice, how can you play hockey in full gear in Florida heat?

Tropicana Field is a domed stadium. Originally the Florida Suncoast Dome, it was referred to as the Thunderdome at the time, and was renamed Tropicana Field when the Rays started playing in MLB in 1998.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropicana_Field

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by JeffB

Tropicana Field is a domed stadium. Originally the Florida Suncoast Dome, it was referred to as the Thunderdome at the time, and was renamed Tropicana Field when the Rays started playing in MLB in 1998.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropicana_Field

Sorry, I was thinking about the Miami Orange Bowl, demolished in 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Orange_Bowl

[Acajack]

I hate the location too and it keeps me from going to events but I have to admit that Sens attendance is pretty good, as is attendance for other events.

Could it be even better? Perhaps. But the location does not seem to be a big drain on ticket sales.