NHL commissioner puts non-LeBreton Flats arena locations in play

A new downtown arena "is vitally important to the long-term future, stability and competitiveness of the Senators."

That was NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's take on moving the home of the Ottawa Senators to LeBreton Flats in 2017, in the midst of an ultimately failed bid to redevelop the entirety of those downtown lands.

Monday evening, the commissioner didn't seem quite so bullish on LeBreton.

"There's going to be a new owner and that new owner is going to figure out what makes the most sense," Bettman said.

Indeed, he went on, look how well this franchise is turning it around, increasing ticket sales by 50 per cent, playing "meaningful games" at the end of March — all while more than 20 kilometres west of the flats in Kanata.

That 2.5 hectare parcel of land set aside for a major events centre at LeBreton "struck me as being a little small," Bettman told reporters.

"You need parking. You want to make sure you can build the arena big enough to have all the loading docks and TV hookups that make a building really accessible."

WATCH | The NHL's commissioner on the LeBreton land:

Now, Bettman insisted he was in the capital Monday merely for his annual franchise visit. Sure, he caught up with the brass at the National Capital Commission (NCC) and sat down with Ottawa's new mayor, but only to get better acquainted and keep the lines of communications open.

There were certainly no dramatic headlines from the visit. But his cool comments on LeBreton, when he has been so enthusiastic in the past about a downtown arena, are worth noting.

Bettman's comments aren't the only slight lobbed at LeBreton lately.

Last week Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who insisted Monday he views LeBreton as a "great site for an arena," pointed out other