Ottawa Charge shifts home arena to Canadian Tire Centre, home of NHL’s Senators

OTTAWA — After drawing big crowds during their playoff run in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, the Ottawa Charge are making a permanent move to a bigger stage.

The Charge announced Thursday they will play home games at Canadian Tire Centre starting this coming season as part of a multi-year agreement.

The Charge played all four of their playoff games at the arena this spring with an average attendance of just over 13,000.

They also drew a crowd of 17,114 to a regular-season game there April 3 against the Montreal Victoire.

The Charge spent their first three seasons at TD Place, a central arena in the nation’s capital with a capacity of over 9,800. They averaged 7,382 through 12 home games there last season.

The arena, run by the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), is in its final years and a new arena with a seating capacity of 5,850, which can be expanded to more than 6,600 is currently under construction.

When the new, smaller arena, part of the Lansdowne 2.0 project was approved, the PWHL expressed its disappointment, saying “it puts our league and our team in a position to really not thrive.”

Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice-president of business operations called it a “huge step back,” and “not a financial model that makes any kind of sense.”

Rumours of a potential move increased when the Charge chose to play all its home playoff games at the Canadian Tire Centre this past spring.

The move will allow the Charge to play and practice in one place, in addition to getting an upgrade to its facilities.

Senators president and chief executive officer Cyril Leeder announced work is already underway.

The Charge will have a dedicated locker room, player’s lounge, coaches offices, medical space and equipment area.

“That’s a big step forward and something we’re really excited about,” said Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld. “I think we’ll have probably the top facilities in the PWHL after this is built leading into this season.”

The two teams have collaborated previously, but this will mark the beginning of an official partnership that both teams believe will benefit the community.

“It’s really great to have both of the best hockey leagues in the world playing in our city, and now they’re under one roof,” Leeder said.

Leeder added that Senators owner Michael Andlauer is fully supportive of the agreement, and the goal is to ensure the Charge have an “opportunity to be successful long term in the city.”

Neither side would elaborate on what entails a “multi-year agreement.” The Senators are working on a deal to build a downtown arena and Leeder added that when things get to that point they would “very much like to be designing a campus there for the Charge as well.”

Hirshfeld said work will be done to ensure any future move is a smooth transition.

“Obviously, we understand some of the concerns from our fan base, but I think from our perspective we’re gonna work really hard to make this an open and safe environment for our fans,” said Hirshfeld. “I think the opportunity that we have more capacity here and can bring more fans into this building to see our sport and see our athletes and how incredible they are. That’s really exciting for us.”

The move will bring together Senators forward Ridly Greig and his sister Dara, who signed as a free agent with the Charge.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press