Lansdowne Park reviewing event centre spaces after Ottawa Charge moves to CTC

City officials will "review options" for spaces in the new event centre at Lansdowne Park that were originally intended for the Ottawa Charge, after the Professional Women's Hockey League team announced it would relocate to the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.

The Charge, which called the 8,500-seat TD Arena home for its first three seasons, moved during this year's playoff run. The team averaged 13,146 fans for home games at the CTC and set a PWHL postseason single-game attendance record with 16,894 fans for Game 3 of the final against Montreal on May 8. The relocation deal was announced on July 9.

In a memo to councillors on July 21, Tammy Rose, the city's general manager of infrastructure, said construction on Lansdowne 2.0 was "well underway." The project, approved by council in November, calls for a new event centre with capacity for 6,600 for hockey and 7,000 for concerts and other events. Excavation of the event centre site is about 95 per cent complete, with 60,000 cubic metres of soil removed. Foundation construction has been ongoing since April, and two tower cranes have been installed. Above-ground construction is set to begin this fall.