Ottawa’s Women’s Hockey Team Eyes New Home with NHL Help

A new plan is forming for the Ottawa Charge, a women’s hockey team that has played in Canada’s capital for three seasons. The team is looking to stay in Ottawa, but its current arena is being renovated and will lose about 2, 000 seats. Because of the reduced capacity, it would no longer be financially viable to keep playing there. The Charge’s business leader, Amy Scheer, said the league is talking with the Ottawa Senators. The talks focus on letting the Charge play some games at the Senators’ arena, the Canadian Tire Centre. The Charge already has a partnership with the Senators and will play Montreal there on April 3. Scheer said that the relationship with the Senators is “blossoming. ” She praised the Senators’ president and CEO, Cyril Leeder, as a great partner. The league also met with the Senators’ owner, Michael Andlauer, during a women’s tournament in Milan.The Charge is one of the original six teams in the league. They used to play at TD Place, a 8, 500‑seat venue that will be reduced to about 5, 700 seats after renovation. The team averaged around 7, 000 fans per game last season and has been growing in attendance. But the smaller arena would hurt revenue. The league is exploring all options, including moving the team to a new city. Scheer said the league will not “go backwards. ” The league is also expanding, adding eight teams this season and planning to add more next year. The Senators’ arena is in Kanata, 40 minutes from downtown Ottawa. The Senators are planning a new downtown arena that could be closer to the Charge’s fan base.