Hockeyspy.ca wrote about the Ottawa arena problem (see here) a month ago. And now, it’s showdown time. The city insists it supports women’s sports. Their actions suggest otherwise.
Because nothing says “supporting women’s sports” like making the building smaller. After green-lighting a shiny new 5,500-seat mini-arena—a downgrade from the already-modest 8,500 seats the Charge currently use—the city seemed shocked that the PWHL and the team didn’t just smile politely and say, “Thank you, sir, may we have less?”
The PWHL Finally Said the Quiet Part Out Loud
Usually leagues handle disagreements behind closed doors. This time the PWHL basically walked to a microphone, tapped it twice, and announced: “We were barely consulted, the arena is too small, and we’re not thrilled.” Translation: Fix this before we pack up the bus.
When a league publicly contradicts a city’s talking points, it means one of two things:
- They’re done playing nice, or
- They’re preparing for a fight.
In Ottawa’s case? Probably both.
Ottawa Thought the Charge Would Just Nod and Accept Their Assigned Seating
Ottawa thought the Charge would just nod and accept their assigned seating. And here’s the best part: the Charge actually have leverage—a weapon most women’s sports teams don’t own.
They draw huge crowds. They create buzz. They fill buildings that weren’t built with them in mind.
And now the city wants to reward all that success with… a smaller building. It’s the sports-business equivalent of getting promoted at work and being handed a smaller desk in the supply closet.
Fans aren’t buying the excuses either. Charge supporters have been showing up in numbers that make some NHL teams glance nervously at their attendance reports. So now those same fans are being told to get used to fewer seats, fewer tickets, fewer moments, all because a redevelopment plan says so? Yeah. Good luck selling that one.
What happens if the Charge simply say “no thanks” and play somewhere else? And the truth is—the league has options. The city knows it. The fans know it. The only people pretending there isn’t a problem are the ones holding the blueprints for the miniature arena.
The Road Ahead
Here’s your civic nightmare scenario:
Anger fans? Check.
Undermine one of the most successful women’s teams in the country? Check.
Risk pushing a popular pro team out of a downtown sports district you’re supposedly revitalizing? Triple check.
If public pressure continues piling up, the city may be forced to reopen the arena size discussion. Not because they want to — but because losing the Charge would be a civic embarrassment on a national scale.
Because whether city hall likes it or not, the PWHL and the Charge are playing a stronger hand than anyone expected—and they’re not thinking small just because the city is.
