The PWHL’s Ottawa Charge will practice and play at Canadian Tire Centre full-time beginning next season, Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld announced Thursday afternoon during a press conference at the arena.
The Charge previously played at TD Place Arena at Lansdowne Park but drew great crowds when they held one regular season and four playoff games at CTC, averaging over 14,000 fans across those five games.
“We're excited, obviously, to play in this arena and all the benefits that we'll get from playing in this type of situation,” said Hirshfeld.
“We're also extremely excited to work closely with the Senators. They've been great partners so far, and we're looking forward to aligning even more closely as we move forward.”
Senators Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Cyril Leeder was on hand during the announcement, alongside Hirshfeld and Charge forward Rebecca Leslie.
“Obviously, we had five games here last year, including four playoff games, and I think by all accounts, they were very successful,” said Leeder.
“We were glad to be part of it and glad to share in that enthusiasm and that excitement. And I would just say that we really feel that the PWHL and the Ottawa Charge are an important part of our hockey ecosystem here.”
Leeder also said that Senators vice president of business operations Chris Phillips will oversee the addition of a “campus” for the Charge at CTC.
“I think that's one of the most exciting things for us as an organization is that we will have a self-contained, exclusive locker room space for our players… we'll have a lounge for our players, we'll have medical space for our players, equipment space for our equipment people, we’ll have coaches' offices,” said Hirshfeld.
“So, for us, that's a big step forward and something we're really excited about. And I think we'll have probably the top facilities in the PWHL after this is built, leading into this season.”
The Senators and Charge will maintain a close working relationship throughout the deal. Leeder said that he’d love to eventually include the Charge in the plans for their new arena development at LeBreton Flats.
“I think from our perspective, as the PWHL grows, aligning ourselves and partnering with a fantastic organization like the Senators is something that's really exciting for us… there’s obviously synergies that will happen between the two organizations,” said Hirshfeld.
“It's really great to have both of the best hockey leagues in the world playing in our city, and now they're under one roof. We feel an important role there in the stewardship, as I said, to make sure that that's done properly,” added Leeder.
“So I think our agreement reflected that with the Charge. The direction I received from Michael Andlauer and his group was, really, to get a fair deal. We want to make sure that the team has the opportunity to be successful long-term in the city.”
Leslie, who grew up in Ottawa and led the Charge in both regular season and postseason scoring, said that both arenas hold special places in her heart, but that in particular, the facilities at CTC excite her for next season.
“We're really excited to be playing at the CTC. You know, our fans showed up in great numbers during the playoffs and all last year when we played here, and the facilities are [second] to none, and we're really excited about it,” said Leslie.
“We've had that conversation with some of the players that we've signed this offseason, but I think again, the facilities will be, you know, best in the league,” said Hirshfeld about using their new home as an enticing destination for recruiting players.
“The fact that you get to practice and play in one spot, a lot of other teams in our league still don't have that ability. So yeah, I think it's going to be a really attractive feature when we're talking to free agents.
“There’s already been so many positives. You know, Rebecca's talked about it a little bit, but been so many positives about this marketplace and about the fanbase that we have here, and how fortunate we are. You put that on top of these new facilities, and practicing playing in the same spot, that's really exciting.”
