PWHL says plans for Lansdowne 2.0 arena 'not viable for us'

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is calling Ottawa's plans for the next Lansdowne Park arena “a huge step back,” warning it throws the financial viability of the Ottawa Charge into question.

The event centre proposed through the Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment plan would seat 5,850 people, according to city staff. They say added standing room would boost capacity to 6,600.

The 48-year-old arena currently has about 9,500 seats.

Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice president of business operations, told CBC News Friday the reduced capacity is a “tough pill to swallow.”

“It puts our league and our team in a position to really not thrive,” she said.

“It's a huge step back in terms of having an opportunity for our fans to see our team play. You know, 3,000 less fans a game is a significant hit … it's not a financial model that makes any kind of sense.”

Charge weekday regular season games attracted 5,775 fans on average last season, though the goal for the coming season is 6,500. Their weekend games attracted an average of 8,348.

Scheer said she is confident those numbers will grow and that hundreds of proposed standing spaces is little solace for the PWHL.

“When you look at our audience, we've got a very mature audience. We've got an audience with families,” she said. “I don't think standing room-only is an option.”

Jayna Hefford, executive vice president of hockey operations at the PWHL and a former Canadian national team player, called the situation “disappointing.”

“We’ve been excited about Ottawa as a market from day one,” she said.

“We’ve been welcomed in a big way by the hockey fans. We love playing there. I tell people all the time, it’s one of the best buildings in our league to be in. The energy in