There are discussions about new buildings in Tempe and Ottawa.
The National Hockey League’s Arizona and Ottawa franchise ownership groups are seeking new arenas. The Arizona franchise is moving out of Glendale, a community west of Phoenix following the season and relocating to a 5,000-seat arena in Tempe that is being built for the Arizona State University hockey program. The Arizona franchise ownership is hoping to build an arena-village in Tempe. Meanwhile in Ottawa, the Senators ownership is in flux following the death of the franchise owner Eugene Melnyk in March. There is a possibility that the people running the Senators franchise might be interested in building an arena near downtown Ottawa, The latest steps in both the Arizona and Ottawa ownerships’ push for new venues took place last week and apparently mum’s the word or maybe loose lips sink ships.
The Arizona proposal for an arena-village which was requested last year by Tempe officials with the proposal specifically written in mind for the NHL team was discussed in an executive session with the hockey business laying out its vision for the property which would include an arena along with retail and office space and residential buildings. Tempe recently held an election so the composition of the city council will be changing shortly and there might not be a clear timetable for a yes or no vote. In Ottawa, the National Capital Commission released a statement claiming there were multiple bids to build “major attractions” on two sites at LeBreton Flats and it will spend the next two months evaluating those proposals and negotiating with prospective developers. One of those bids might be a proposal to build an arena on the site. That is just some of the very limited information that has come out about the LeBreton Flats project. It is very difficult to tell where the two projects are headed at the moment.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com