Ottawa Senators likely to draw more people to games near downtown, poll finds
More detailed submission to NCC on plan for new arena at LeBreton Flats due in December, team says
Some Ottawa and Gatineau residents say they're more likely to see a major sports event if it's closer to the downtown core, according to a recent poll commissioned by Radio Canada.
The survey, which polled 500 people in Ottawa and another 500 in Gatineau, also found support for the idea of moving the Ottawa Senators closer to the city's core.
A new arena is one of four ideas the National Capital Commission short-listed for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats.
RendezVous LeBreton Group, which represents the Ottawa Senators, proposed "a major event centre for sports and entertainment performances, complemented by green spaces, and residential and commercial developments."
A more detailed design proposal and financial plan has to be submitted to the NCC by mid-December.
'Haven't found anybody that thinks it's a bad idea'
About 55 per cent of people polled in the Radio Canada survey think the NCC should favour the project to move the Ottawa Senators downtown.
Among those surveyed who had never attended an NHL game, 64 per cent said they would be more likely to go if the arena was more central.
Senators president Cyril Leeder said the team hasn't encountered much opposition to the idea.
"I haven't found anybody that thinks it's a bad idea. So it doesn't surprise me and those are numbers we like, obviously," Leeder said.
"The numbers don't lie. If you're centrally located, you're closer to more of the population so people that haven't gone to games I think would find that would obviously be an improvement and maybe a reason for them to go to games."