[steve81]

I'm not from Ottawa (lived in the region for 4 months several years ago and would love to return), but I'm amazed how far away the Scotiabank Place is from downtown. Got this from Wikipedia:

Although widely acknowledged as a well-designed arena, it has been criticized in the years since construction for being difficult to reach. It is located in the far west-end of Ottawa, which puts it at a fair distance from some parts of the National Capital Region, especially from the east-end of Ottawa or from the Outaouais region. Difficulties are compounded by frequent traffic congestion at game time. Another problem is the isolation of the arena from many restaurants and bars, which makes it difficult for celebrations to continue naturally after the game as in many other more centrally located arenas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotiabank_Place

Here is what I would have proposed instead:

http://www.omni-gamer.com/arena.jpg

The current arena was built in 1996, so it is quite recent. But should Ottawa think about moving the NHL arena downtown in the future? What do you think?

[waterloowarrior]

you can read about some of the background in these links

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=d9b23914-b036-474c-8467-a91c72ac7327

http://dramatispersonae.org/MoreOnPoliticsMediaAndBusiness.html

http://dramatispersonae.org/MoreOnPoliticsMediaAndBusiness_files/image002.jpg

this was what they wanted to put there at first...


in the next while the area will be developed

http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/pdc/2003/02-27/ACS2003-DEV-POL-0011_files/image032.jpg

http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/pdc/2003/02-27/ACS2003-DEV-POL-0011.htm

http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2006/04-12/pec/ACS2006-PGM-APR-0003.htm



http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2006/05-24/trc/ACS2006-PGM-POL-0032.htm

[raisethehammer]

it's brutal. right up there with jersey meadowlands.
Go Sabres!!

[Berklon]

From a year ago:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Palladiumottawafromair.jpg/800px-Palladiumottawafromair.jpg

Don't know if it's changed much since, but I can imagine how pissed people are to travel to the boonies to attend the games.

[401_King]

lol...too bad

[O-Town Hockey]

It is too bad how far away the arena is from downtown; but do you know what else would be too bad??....If we didn't have a team at all. The Ottawa Senators were born in the early 90's, a time in the NHL when small markets were losing their teams and only the oldest, most storied, and most popular teams were turning a profit. Many different locations were studied as a possiblilty for the new NHL arena but none, as it turned out, were financially or practically feasible. For many of the downtown sites there wasn't enough roads or infrastructure servicing the site. It would have cost in the ballpark of a billion dollars to expropriate lands and build some kind of expressway to get there. While the arena location is not ideal, I think that if owners were facing any more debt than they already were in the late 1990's (when the Sens had a bit of a crisis and almost left town), I'll bet the team would have left for good. With the Sens up 2-0 on Buffalo and coming home for games 2 and 3, I can't help but imagine what may have happened if short-sighted people had their way, and Ottawa made the mistake of building a downtown arena. We are a much smaller market than Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver, we don't have the benefit of facilities and infrastructure that Calgary has from hosting the Olympics in '88, and we don't have a second rate arena like Edmonton. I, for one, have no problem driving the 21 minutes from downtown Ottawa to Kanata for a game and will continue to support the Senators and their suburban arena.

[steve81]

I guess the context of the early 1990's explains it well. Still, it could have been closer, maybe not downtown, but closer. An arena downtown would be a good thing for downtown Ottawa, if they can provide enough parking. But yes, it would cost a lot. So it's not for now, but could be something to think about for the future.

[401_King]

boo sens, nobody likes you, even downtown ottawa wants to be as far away from you as possible! :D

but seriously, look at that picture. thats sad. theres an arena in the middle of nowhere, literally, theres nothing!!!!!!! i see a couple of farms and some roads and a cornfield...LOL...and as most of you know, in other cities with arenas downtown, a lot of ppl leave the game and mingle into the street life, go to bars for a drink, do touristy things if your making it a day trip for downtown.....i sure hope parking is free at that arena.... from that pic it looks like people have no choice but to drive to the game, and drive wherever they are going. its really too bad. it makes me appreciate the ACC and skydome a million times more.

[WZ1]

401_king..

Where are the leafs again? Golfing? Probably loosing at that as well mind you.. oh and last i checked hockey was about winning, not where the arena is.. the leafs sure havent benefited on the score board by playing on Bay and Lakeshore..

[401_King]

401_king..

Where are the leafs again? Golfing? Probably loosing at that as well mind you.. oh and last i checked hockey was about winning, not where the arena is.. the leafs sure havent benefited on the score board by playing on Bay and Lakeshore..

yea we've never benefited for sure, we only knocked out the sens, like what, 4 times in the playoffs while playing at ACC???? can you clarify this for me, oh so great suburban senator fan? thanks for trying ! anyways your attempt to rationalize the (bad) location of the arena is by bashing the leafs is so funny. im trying to argue that the location kills post game culture in downtown areas, i could care less if the sport is hockey or curling or whatever. your trying to get personal with the leafs and be like "hockey is about winning", "golfing" and make that your argument....think about what ur saying...so funny!

oh wait ur from hamilton...LOL...yo, get an NHL team first, then you can start being a hater!

[matt602]

Hamilton has a hockey team. It is in the playoffs and has already destroyed one team. The next one looks like it's gonna go the same way (I think the series is being lead 3-0). Our AHL team is doing better than the Leafs have done in many years.

Now of course, this isn't really a thread to debate who's hockey team is better. It's about how Ottawa's arena is in a stupid place :)

[401_King]

you Hamiltonians crack me up!!!!!11

[BCTed]

Hamilton has a hockey team. It is in the playoffs and has already destroyed one team. The next one looks like it's gonna go the same way (I think the series is being lead 3-0). Our AHL team is doing better than the Leafs have done in many years.


The current series is tied 2-2.

[WZ1]

Born and raised in Ottawa 19 Years, moved to Toronto, 5 years, moved to Hamilton, 3 months.. if that makes me a Hamiltonian, or of less significance.. than you are dumber than I thought..

P.S. leaf fans need to stop clinging on the past.. i mean your speaking about history here.. the last time the leafs won the cup you wernt even a cum stain on your mothers dress.

[BCTed]

than your dumber than I thought..


then you're

WZ1, you definitely fit in well as an honourary Hamiltonian.

[401_King]

Born and raised in Ottawa 19 Years, moved to Toronto, 5 years, moved to Hamilton, 3 months.. if that makes me a Hamiltonian, or of less significance.. than you are dumber than I thought..

P.S. leaf fans need to stop clinging on the past.. i mean your speaking about history here.. the last time the leafs won the cup you wernt even a cum stain on your mothers dress.

and the last time the sens won a cup was....NEVER! who cares! its not like im losing sleep over the leafs!

lol i love how you just changed ur grammar to sound less stupid than you already are. yo, this thread is about ottawa's NHL arena... look what u started bringing the leafs into this! i tried to explain to you, that you are trying to justify that ottawa's arena location is good because a team which happens to play there wins, and downtown locations are overrated (north america wide) because one team in all of pro sports (which you pointed out as the sole basis of your argument) in north america called "leafs" (only one of the 4 teams that play at ACC's location) haven't won in a while . thats what you said, no? i dont think location and wins are correlated. i think locations and street life ARE correlated! from a 24 year old, i would expect better than this crap!...

thats also typical ppl only exposed to 1 sport for you..always bringing up hockey to base their arguments when they have nothing else to watch. the ACC has other sports too you know!


ok BACK to topic. when was that arena built and where did the sens play before?

[upinottawa]

The Senators' temporary home was the Civic Centre at Landsdowne Park.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Civic_Centre

Ottawa last won the Stanley Cup in 1927. I believe Ottawa has won the cup eight times.

[TheMeltyMan]

Can't you just blow up the Rideau Centre and put the new stadium up there?

[BlackRedGold]

From a year ago:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Palladiumottawafromair.jpg/800px-Palladiumottawafromair.jpg

Don't know if it's changed much since, but I can imagine how pissed people are to travel to the boonies to attend the games.

That image is kind of misleading since it shows the area west of the arena and not east.

Since the rink was built Palladium Drive has had plenty of development on it and the streets that run off it. Several huge high tech manufacturing plants, multiple high rise office buildings, big box stores and auto dealerships have all shown up since then. And development is underway on large housing developments to the north and south of it.

As well, the land directly to the east of it has the Carp River running through and is basically a marsh. One guy who tried to walk from the nearby Home Depot to the rink through the "field" had to be rescued when he got trapped in the wetland.

[shappy]

it's certainly a poor choice of location... tough to argue against that.

[O-Town Hockey]

This image from Google Maps shows the area surrounding Scotiabank Place to the East http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&ll=45.306467,-75.906858&spn=0.027527,0.05785&t=h&z=14&om=1. I agree that there is very little to the West of the arena (not for long) but that is because it was built on the western edge of Kanata (a suburb of 80,000 people). There are plans for a tremendous amount of development in the areas around Palladium Drive as well as an expansion of the Queensway to 6 lanes.

[Deez]

All financial nonsense aside, the arena should have been built on Lebreton Flats. There's more (way more) than enough land, it's right next to downtown, and the transitway runs right through the site. You would've had an ideal central location that pretty much forces you to use transit and that would have greatly accelerated development on the site.

The problem was that the land was and is owned by the NCC and that the site was contaminated from past industrial uses...so of course there were extra costs involved (including the cost of delaying by having to deal with the NCC). But then again, I have more than an inkling that the ACC in T.O. was built on former industrial land.

Here's a shot of the land:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=ottawa&ie=UTF8&ll=45.418365,-75.708718&spn=0.016176,0.039911&t=k&z=15&om=1

(It can be identified in the pic as the land to the west that's being dug up...fortunately the land is now being put to somewhat reasonable use)

BTW, Steve there are a few problems with your plan. Firstly that area's topography wouldn't suit a large building like an arena; there's a downhill grade towards Rideau. Second, the land that would be occupied by the parking facility is owned (for the most part) by the University of Ottawa and they wouldn't give it up. Thirdly, there are several beautiful Victorian-era homes in that area that would never get the go-ahead to be demolished (you're basically wiping out 3 large residential blocks)...although there is a homeless shelter and a gawdawful apt building I'd like to see go.

[raisethehammer]

Go Sabres!!

[steve81]

Thanks for the info Deez. Lebreton Flats would be a very good location. But I guess the NCC would never approve that.

BTW, I also thought about building it in the area to the right, between Cumberland and King Edward. Don't know if it that would work better.

As for the University of Ottawa, they might enjoy the parking spaces it would provide.

[TheMeltyMan]

I think you should build a new stadium from the bones of the homeless.

[spotlight]

The perfect downtown location is just that: PERFECT..

The massive DND building downtown: next to the rideau centre, congress centre, transitway...etc... has been looking for a buyer for the past 10 years.

this site is massive !!!!!!!!!! and could easily fit a 20 000 seat arena.. all you need to do is buy the building, blow it up and replace it with the arena..

[matt602]

The current series is tied 2-2.

My mistake then... I had read in the View that it was at 2-0 earlier in the week, overhead we won another game and wasn't sure about last night's game.

ok I'm done hijacking the thread :\

[steve81]

The perfect downtown location is just that: PERFECT..

The massive DND building downtown: next to the rideau centre, congress centre, transitway...etc... has been looking for a buyer for the past 10 years.

this site is massive !!!!!!!!!! and could easily fit a 20 000 seat arena.. all you need to do is buy the building, blow it up and replace it with the arena..

It would fit there for sure (including some indoor parking), very interesting spot. They could connect it underground to the Rideau Centre. And you would see it when skating on the Rideau Canal!

[adam-machiavelli]

It's ok that the arena was built in the 'burbs. The people that go to Sens games are generally the urban-phobic types. If the arena was built on Lebreton Flats, they'd come just before the game started, dump endless money into frivolous security systems for their cars, then flee to the suburbs asap after the game ended. No economic benefit to downtown Ottawa, just congestion.

[raisethehammer]

It's ok that the arena was built in the 'burbs. The people that go to Sens games are generally the urban-phobic types. If the arena was built on Lebreton Flats, they'd come just before the game started, dump endless money into frivolous security systems for their cars, then flee to the suburbs asap after the game ended. No economic benefit to downtown Ottawa, just congestion.

hmmm, this might help me understand why the ottawa fans insisted on booing the best hockey player in the world every time he touched the puck during the series against Pittsburgh.
Also explains why they yell and scream for a penalty everytime someone on the other team blows their nose.
I feel like I'm watching a game from Alabama whenever I see a game in Kanata (or wherever the heck it is).
Build the arena downtown and maybe you'd get some real hockey fans showing up instead of the current crew.

[O-Town Hockey]

hmmm, this might help me understand why the ottawa fans insisted on booing the best hockey player in the world every time he touched the puck during the series against Pittsburgh.
Also explains why they yell and scream for a penalty everytime someone on the other team blows their nose.
I feel like I'm watching a game from Alabama whenever I see a game in Kanata (or wherever the heck it is).
Build the arena downtown and maybe you'd get some real hockey fans showing up instead of the current crew.

We were booing at Crosby because he whined and cried after every single play. If he wants to get any respect from the fans, the refs, as well as the vetern players of the league he needs to shut his mouth once in a while. There's no debate that he is one of the most talented players to ever play in this league but he is quickly getting a reputation as a cry-baby. Watch a few Pittsburgh games and tell me you don't get a little bit annoyed by his constant yapping.....luckily we only had to watch 5.

[SteelTown]

I've avoided peeking into this thread lol. Brings back history lessons when Ottawa and Hamilton both wanted an NHL team in the early 1990's. Hamilton had just built Copps in the downtown core and well Ottawa had no arena. Guess who got a team? lol

Brrrr

[401_King]

i hope one day hamilton will get its team. the ontario rivalries will be intense!

[the dude]

i always chuckle whenever i drive past the arena. they couldn't have built it any further from the city if they tried! the flats is where it should have been built but it's too damned late now. or they could have demolished landsdowne and built it there. it's easy to be a revisionist.

[raisethehammer]

ottawa fans shouldn't be talking about whining and yapping.
if that's all he ever did, you should have given him an honourary key to the city or something. Sounds like he'd fit right in.

[the dude]

try living in ottawa: you'd whine, too. i lived there for two years and loved it but the bureaucracy blew my mind. things just don't get done in that town the way they should.

[BlackRedGold]

i always chuckle whenever i drive past the arena. they couldn't have built it any further from the city if they tried!

FYI, you'd have to drive another 25+ km west on the 417 before you leave Ottawa. So they could have built it a lot further out if they wanted.

And what everyone seems to forget is that the original plan for the rink was to be part of a mixed use development called West Terrace. But the clueless NDP government squashed that. The only way it was financially viable to build an NHL rink when other cities in the US were giving them away for free was to use the profits from other developments centered around it to pay for it.

[shappy]

is there a bus route that goes by there? Or some kind of shuttle service during events (including a hockey game)?

I just keep thinking about how weird it would be if Ottawa wins the cup at home... the party from the arena would spill out onto a parking lot in the middle of nowhere.

[upinottawa]

Game day bus service to Scotiabank Place:

http://www.octranspo.com/mapscheds/tripplanning/ScotiaBank_Place/Maps/Connexion400_map.pdf

[keninhalifax]

There is still a site at the west end of LeBreton Flats which is owned by the NCC and would be a prime location for the arena. It is located at the northern terminus of the current O-Train and is also serviced by the Transitway. There was a proposal some time ago to build a new central library or national cultural institution here, but those plans seem to have fallen through.

[O-Town Hockey]

is there a bus route that goes by there? Or some kind of shuttle service during events (including a hockey game)?

I just keep thinking about how weird it would be if Ottawa wins the cup at home... the party from the arena would spill out onto a parking lot in the middle of nowhere.

While there are 20,000 people in Scotiabank Place watching the game, there are way more than that in downtown bars and pubs watching as well. WHEN we win the cup, the party will definately be downtown in the market. Those at the game I'm sure will drive downtown and then party all night!

[upinottawa]

I was looking forward to a parade down the Queensway....

[ac888yow]

hmmm, this might help me understand why the ottawa fans insisted on booing the best hockey player in the world every time he touched the puck during the series against Pittsburgh.
Also explains why they yell and scream for a penalty everytime someone on the other team blows their nose.
I feel like I'm watching a game from Alabama whenever I see a game in Kanata (or wherever the heck it is).
Build the arena downtown and maybe you'd get some real hockey fans showing up instead of the current crew.Your post is almost as stupid as the one you quoted in reference. Believe me, that's hard to accomplish so ... congratulations.

As for the Arena location ... no sense in trying to defend the indefensible. It sucks, plain and simple.

[ac888yow]

WHEN we win the cup, the party will definately be downtown in the market.As it was on Saturday after the OT win. It was total pandemonium in the Market after the game.

[raisethehammer]

Your post is almost as stupid as the one you quoted in reference. Believe me, that's hard to accomplish so ... congratulations.

As for the Arena location ... no sense in trying to defend the indefensible. It sucks, plain and simple.


lol...at least you didn't try to defend the goofball fans in your city....make fun of our posts all you want.

[ac888yow]

lol...at least you didn't try to defend the goofball fans in your cityNah, I'm sure the goofballs can defend themselves. More of them probably would but I think they're just too busy still watching hockey to notice or care about your ramblings.

[harls]

is there a bus route that goes by there? Or some kind of shuttle service during events (including a hockey game)?


transit buses have reserved diamond lanes to the arena.. usually there's tons of buses there. I usually head to Local Heroes or Darcy McGee's in Bell's Corners before the game, they have chartered buses to the arena for a couple of bucks... saves parking in that enormous lot.

[shappy]

O-Town Hockey, yeah, I figured downtown gets crazy but you know what I'm saying... getting in your car and sitting in traffic after watching your team win the cup would kinda suck hard. Sitting on a bus would be more fun, but still...

[the dude]

actually, riding the bus back to town after a game is a lot of fun. can't believe i just said that.

senators just won...damn.

[adam-machiavelli]

I'm so excited about that 1-0 win tonight. But I'm petrified if the Sens have to take on Detroit.

[vid]

Scotiabank Place must be lonely out there in Kanata... :pet:

It needs some friends. Let's add a Walmart and some tacky chain motels!! Maybe a Montana's or Boston Pizza too!! Yay suburban blandness!!

[O-Town Hockey]

lol...at least you didn't try to defend the goofball fans in your city....make fun of our posts all you want.

In my opinion, Ottawa has some of the best and most hockey savvy fans in the NHL. We're not a bunch of bandwagon jumpers like in Buffalo or Pittsburgh and when we boo we boo for a reason. We deserve a cup in this city after 10 straight years in the playoffs and it appears we are closer than ever. Go Sens Go!

[raisethehammer]

deserve a cup?? why? for folding like a cheap tent everytime the senior citizen Maple Leaf squad showed up in the playoffs??

Hey on the bright side, wed night should be the last beautiful spring night I have to sit inside suffering through another non contact, boring playoff game.

[WZ1]

deserve a cup?? why? for folding like a cheap tent everytime the senior citizen Maple Leaf squad showed up in the playoffs??

Hey on the bright side, wed night should be the last beautiful spring night I have to sit inside suffering through another non contact, boring playoff game.

Ottawa in 4. The only contact is Buffalo getting smeared!

[Stanzmastertron3000]

Scotiabank Place must be lonely out there in Kanata... :pet:

It needs some friends. Let's add a Walmart and some tacky chain motels!! Maybe a Montana's or Boston Pizza too!! Yay suburban blandness!!

Scotiabank, erm, Corel Center, is in the middle of nowhere. Kanata has all the usual chains, a lotta hi-tech shit, and is actually pretty nice if you're rich and hate french speaking Ottawatonians.

[migo]

Scotiabank, erm, Corel Center, is in the middle of nowhere. Kanata has all the usual chains, a lotta hi-tech shit, and is actually pretty nice if you're rich and hate french speaking Ottawatonians.

The only other NHL arena that is "in the middle of nowhere" is the Jobing.com arena, home of the Coyotes. It is approximately 17.6 miles from downtown Phoenix. Do a http://maps.live.com/ comparison.

[upinottawa]

The Palace of Auburn Hills is about 26 miles north of downtown Detroit. Also, the New Jersey Devils and Nets do not exactly play in the "middle of somewhere", although that will change soon for the Devils.

The Florida Panthers are not exactly located in downtown Miami either....

I have no interest in defending the location of Scotiabank Place (I both live and work downtown and I would attend a lot more games but for the 40 minute bus ride to the rink), but Ottawa is not getting a new NHL facility for at least another 40 years so....

[O-Town Hockey]

deserve a cup?? why? for folding like a cheap tent everytime the senior citizen Maple Leaf squad showed up in the playoffs??

Hey on the bright side, wed night should be the last beautiful spring night I have to sit inside suffering through another non contact, boring playoff game.

How could you call those games non-contact. I agree that the Sabres are a bunch of pansies with no grit whatsoever but you can't say that the Sens haven't thrown any big hits! I think Volchenkov has thrown more in the playoffs than any Leaf player from the entire regular season. Hope your boys are enjoying the golf season.

[raisethehammer]

How could you call those games non-contact. I agree that the Sabres are a bunch of pansies with no grit whatsoever but you can't say that the Sens haven't thrown any big hits! I think Volchenkov has thrown more in the playoffs than any Leaf player from the entire regular season. Hope your boys are enjoying the golf season.

Don't call the Leafs "my boys". I can't stand them.
however, my boys are on the golf course - New York Islanders.

[waterloowarrior]

Ottawa fan pushes 'Sens Mile' street party

Last Updated: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 | 5:25 PM ET

CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html)

An Ottawa Senators fan wants to make sure others who share his passion know where to celebrate if the team wins a spot in the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday night.

If the Senators sweep their NHL Eastern Conference final series with a win over the Buffalo Sabres in Ottawa, Shane Currey hopes to transform Elgin Street between Gladstone Avenue and Somerset Street into a hockey party street like Calgary's Red Mile.

Currey is counting on Facebook to help him out. He's posted a street party event called "Make Elgin Street the Sens Mile!" on the popular social networking website and more than 1,800 people have been invited.

"We're doing this just because we've noticed there isn't enough fan support in Ottawa," Currey told CBC Wednesday.

He said in Buffalo, there are 7,000 fans outside HSBC Arena every game, but allowed it wasn't as easy to get to Scotiabank Place in Ottawa's west end Kanata area.

"So if we centralize it downtown, then it's much easier."

Currey said a number of bars on Elgin Street are on board, but as of Wednesday afternoon, he didn't quite have the go-ahead from the city for an official event in the street.

"So far we've just gotten a call from the mayor's office telling us that we need permits … so we're trying to do the best we can to get that going," he said.

In the meantime, he said, he's trying to get the word out and build a sense of spirit in the city.

Mayor's spokesman doesn't want to 'jinx things'

Mike Patton, a spokesman for the mayor's office, said city hall is not ready to celebrate yet.

"It's just bad luck to be thinking in advance of any of these sorts of issues," he said. "They're not in the finals, we don't want to jinx things, and we'll wait till any sort of arrangements are necessary."

The City of Ottawa has made some preparations for a possible celebration, announcing Wednesday afternoon that parking along Elgin Street from Laurier Avenue to Catherine Street will be banned until the bars close on Thursday morning.

Police are also planning extra patrols, and barricades have been put up around Parliament Hill on Wellington Street.

Meanwhile, the Red Zone plaza party outside Gate 1 at Scotiabank Place has been cancelled due to poor weather, although the beer tent will remain open.




LOL!

[raisethehammer]

can you hear it???
A win Saturday by the Sabes and this will get fun.

10,000 fans in HSBC arena last night.

[vid]

Scotiabank, erm, Corel Center, is in the middle of nowhere. Kanata has all the usual chains, a lotta hi-tech shit, and is actually pretty nice if you're rich and hate french speaking Ottawatonians.

It sounds terrible. :(

[phil235]

Although the location of Scotiabank Place is undoubtedly terrible, I will say that I have never seen anything like the massive tailgate party outside the arena before game 3 of the Stanley Cup final.

[BlackRedGold]

Although the location of Scotiabank Place is undoubtedly terrible, I will say that I have never seen anything like the massive tailgate party outside the arena before game 3 of the Stanley Cup final.

The amazing part is that the thousands of people who watched the game outside the arena couldn't park at the building. If the arena was as isolated as people claim, they wouldn't have been there.

[upinottawa]

Black, where did they park? Is there a rule that you must produce a ticket in order to park during the playoffs (of course there isn't considering Will Call, etc.)? I doubt few people from Orleans drove out to Kanata to tailgate. Also, those people who watched the game from outside the arena did so on a Saturday. Even if the weather was good, the numbers watching outside the arena on a weekday would never come close (to that of a Saturday) as a direct function of the arena's location.

There were approx. 10,000 people on the law at City Hall on Saturday. There were many more in the Market and on Elgin.

[ac888yow]

He probably meant that the stadium lots were all full. I've never been asked for proof of ticket purchase to park there on a game night.

[Biff]

I was just looking at Google Earth....can anyone tell me what building is on Carling Ave across from Kempster Ave, a round building with a large parking lot, with a white roof that looks like a "C". i thought that was the Corel Centre. (Didn't it just change names to Scotia Bank Place?) It is just off 417 and Richmond Rd interchange.

Thanks for any help.

[Deez]

^That's a "Coliseum" movie theater formerly operated by Famous Players, now by Cineplex. It's ugly as sin.

[BlackRedGold]

Black, where did they park?

No idea. They had employee parking for the rink somewhere around the Home Depot. I'd guess they must have parked at Centrum or the Bell Sensplex (I saw people walking south through the Smart Technologies parking lot).

Is there a rule that you must produce a ticket in order to park during the playoffs (of course there isn't considering Will Call, etc.)?

For the Cup finals every car parking in the arena's lot needed to show a ticket. Even if you had a parking pass you still had to show your ticket.

[SSLL]

I agree that the arena should have been built closer, but maybe not right downtown.

[BlackRedGold]

I agree that the arena should have been built closer, but maybe not right downtown.

The Rideau campus of Algonquin would have been a good spot if it was big enough. Right beside the Queensway and the Transitway in the mid point of the city.

[SSLL]

Or by the Train Yards retail park, where the new Wal*Mart is.

[Rathgrith]

You know, I think that is the only way we can slove the homelessness problem. Just destroy the places where they congregate. Then they well leave (or die) and everyone will be happy.

That aside maybe the stadium should be where the (old)Lynx stadium is.