Ottawa Charge to make ‘major announcement’ at Canadian Tire Centre today

The Ottawa Charge "C" logo on the ice at Canadian Tire Centre. (Ottawa Charge/Facebook)

The Ottawa Charge will make a “major announcement” at the Canadian Tire Centre today about their home for the 2026-27 season.

Ottawa Senators president and CEO Cyril Leeder, Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld and Charge forward Rebecca Leslie will speak at Canadian Tire Centre at 2:30 p.m.

The Associated Press reported last month that the Charge had reached a deal with the Ottawa Senators to play games at Canadian Tire Centre next season.

The Charge played games during their first three seasons at the Arena at TD Place at Lansdowne, before moving to the Canadian Tire Centre for playoff games in April and May.

There was a boost in attendance for Charge games at the Canadian Tire Centre. A total of 13,112 fans watched Game 3 of the Charge first round playoff series against Boston, while 11,297 fans watched game 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

During the Walter Cup Final, the Charge saw 16,894 fans for Game 3 and 12,362 fans for Game 4.

If the Charge moves to the Canadian Tire Centre, it ends the Charge’s run at TD Place.

After Council approved Lansdowne 2.0, which includes a 6,500-person capacity new event centre, the Professional Women’s Hockey League said the Charge would never play at Lansdowne.

“These women have worked too hard to get to the point today where a 5,500-seat building is well below what we average in Ottawa,” Amy Scheer, executive vice-president of business operations for the Professional Women’s Hockey League, told reporters in November.

City Manager Wendy Stephanson and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, which operates Lansdowne, were directed to negotiate a possible lease extension for the Ottawa Charge at the Arena at TD Place.

A spokesperson for the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group would not comment on the Charge’s announcement on Wednesday.

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