Ottawa Black Bears will take Grassroots Path to Success

Senators Sports & Entertainment continues to look for ways to grow and strengthen our relationship with the Ottawa-Gatineau community.

The Ottawa Black Bears will kick off game action in the fall of 2024, but the work starts today to carve their place in the National Capital Region.

“Senators Sports & Entertainment continues to look for ways to grow and strengthen our relationship with the Ottawa-Gatineau community,” said Erin Crowe, COO, and CFO of Senators Sports & Entertainment.

Lacrosse is a big sport in the area, with a large percentage of the 33,000+ recreational players calling Ottawa home. On hand at the press conference announcing the Ottawa Black Bears were dozens of youth lacrosse players excited for a glimpse of some of the professional players visiting from New York.

“Box Lacrosse is a fast, physical, and fan-friendly game. With the NLL’s strength and rapid growth, a strong ownership group, and collective relationships with TSN,” added Crowe. “We believe the Ottawa Black Bears will be another great addition to the Ottawa sports landscape.

This will be an entertaining and exciting product that our fans will love and embrace. We can’t wait for the Black Bears to hit the field and take their place in our community.”

The Black Bears will have a partnership with the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League and will play their home games at the Canadian Tire Centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata.

“Ottawa is an incredible market, with an established fan base, and a major-league arena,” said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood in a release. “This is an immense opportunity for our League to fortify our roots in the National Capital Region and to partner with a sophisticated front office in the Senators. We feel this relationship will be a terrific success and are excited and confident in the short- and long-term positioning of the Ottawa Black Bears.”