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With the Ottawa Charge moving to the Canadian Tire Centre, some are wondering what the financial implications are for their previous home base at Lansdowne Park.
Last week, the team officially announced it’s moving to the Ottawa Senators’ arena for at least next season.
The move came after executives with the Professional Women’s Hockey League said the team would not play at the smaller TD Place arena that’s part of Lansdowne 2.0, the $419-million revamp of the Glebe urban park that city council approved in late 2025.
The city’s partner in the Lansdowne redevelopment, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), told CBC in an email that it would seek to fill the Charge’s absence with alternative events.
But June Creelman, vice-president of the Glebe Community Association, remains worried about what the team’s decision to relocate to Kanata means for Lansdowne 2.0’s financials.
June Creelman is vice-president of the Glebe Community Association. (Christian Lachance/CBC)Councillor to seek more info
“Certainly the Charge brought a new audience of women’s sports fans here, and it brought in new energy. So I think it does put into question as some of the assumptions in the forecast and the projections they made,” she said.
“I imagine they’re looking into it right now. I don’t know, but I think the city and OSEG have to really carefully think about how they respond to this big gap in in the offerings of Lansdowne Park.”
Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard, who has been a vocal opponent of Lansdowne 2.0, said on social media he’s asked city manager Wendy Stephanson for details on the financial impacts.
He also pointed to events like CityFolk, which had to leave Lansdowne Park due to construction work.
“We are seeing with the move of the Charge, the loss of [electronic dance music festival] Escapade, the loss of CityFolk … that many of the promised revenue streams are already in jeopardy,” Menard told CBC in a statement.
A major construction site at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park is seen on June 10, 2026. (Trevor Pritchard/CBC)
Some Ottawa Charge fans also have similar concerns, including Michael Walma, a retired federal public servant who had season tickets last year.
“I’m kind of concerned as a taxpayer that that we might end up on the hook if Lansdowne 2.0 doesn’t work out, according to the somewhat rosy projections that have been made for it,” he said.
When the Charge announced their move to the Canadian Tire Centre, general manager Mike Hirshfeld said he was “very confident” the team will be able to draw people out to Kanata.
But Walma said he won’t get season tickets for the upcoming season.
“I can’t imagine trying to get out to Kanata on a January Tuesday night, and bring my family with me, and then still expect them to go to school or to to work again the next morning,” he said.
“I’m concerned that the move to Kanata will have an impact on the ability of particularly families to be able to get out to the games on a regular basis.”