In January, TD Place Arena will boast a professional hockey tenant, PWHL Ottawa, and the team will bring a new life to Lansdowne.
The impact has been almost instant. Players and staff have been engaging the community since training camp began Nov. 15. The excitement is palpable.
It’s been 27 years since Lansdowne Park hosted a professional hockey team.
In 1992, the NHL’s newly awarded Ottawa Senators franchise called Lansdowne’s TD Place Arena (formerly Civic Arena) home.
The team soon moved to Kanata in 1996, abandoning the Ottawa core and its many diehard fans.
PWHL Ottawa fills the need for world-class sports talent at Lansdowne and will bring sorely missed energy to the park. In many ways, Lansdowne is the centre of public life in Ottawa.
The park is a place of historical significance and pride. It was the site of three Ottawa Silver Seven’s Stanley Cup victories from 1903 to 1906. More recently, the park has become a hub for the Ottawa Farmers’ Market, the annual Christmas Market and other gatherings.
Ottawa is the most populous Canadian city without a professional hockey team in its downtown core.
TD Place currently hosts the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks and the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. The former is a mediocre football team, while the latter feeds players to better leagues.
The venue is also home to the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Ottawa BlackJacks basketball team and Canadian Premier League’s Atlético Ottawa soccer. Still, neither represents the world’s best talent in their respective sports.
With the arrival of PWHL Ottawa, Lansdowne is gifted a highly marketable team comprised of some of the very best women’s hockey players in the world.
This kind of entertainment value doesn’t grow on trees. To have people who are internationally recognized as the best at what they do is an exceptional draw for Lansdowne and the city.
Players like Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner and Emerance Maschmeyer finally have a home where they can establish their legacies in front of an adoring fanbase.
And yes, there are problems with TD Place, including a leaking ceiling, obsolete facilities and load-bearing issues. Looking long-term, the looming threat of demolition can’t be ignored.
But with a large, 10,000-seat venue and a completely redeveloped neighbourhood surrounding it, PWHL Ottawa is in a better position to succeed than any women’s team prior.
Ottawans deserve a professional hockey team befitting of the city’s rich women’s hockey history.
The Ottawa Alerts represented the city back in 1915. More recently, the Ottawa Raiders competed in the now-defunct National Women’s Hockey League.
Give Ottawa what it wants. The PWHL will grow the women’s game and the community around it.
Featured image from files
