Ottawa Senators Owner Makes His Move
After the Ottawa city council essentially snubbed plans for the Ottawa Senators owner to open a casino, the city will see this community figure leave his position on the task force created by the city in order to plan Ottawa's celebrations for Canada's upcoming 150th birthday that will be taking place in 2017.
The hockey team's owner, Eugene Melnyk, has also left his positions on committees serving the Ottawa Tourism and the National Arts Centre, along with his position on the board of the Ottawa Convention Centre.
The Ottawa Senators Owner makes his move from helping with the city's public life just two weeks after the city council chose to make the decision to vote against his requested casino plan.
Melnyk Wanted Open Casino Competition
Melnyk had not expected the city council and the mayor to simply support his casino proposal, but he had asked that the city council have an open competition regarding the possibility of a new casino in Ottawa.
When Melnyk made this request of the city councillors, Cyril Leeder of the Ottawa Senators was by his side. Leeder is the face of the Senators' NHL franchise in Ottawa.
Despite what seemed to be a reasonable request for an open competition, the city council, under the leadership of Mayor Jim Watson, made the decision to inform the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation that the city would prefer to keep the casino and gaming at its current location, the Rideau Carleton Raceway.
No Casino for Kanata
Melnyk had hoped to locate a new casino and entertainment centre in Kanata, the Canadian Tire Centre. The Kanata North County's Marianne Wilkinson, said: "I'm not surprised. I was expecting Melnyk to take some action, and that's less than some of the things he could do."
Wilkinson had warned that the good relationship between Melnyk and the city could be damaged. In effect, this has also removed Cyril Leeder from the city's public life. "It's too bad," said Wilkinson, "I really like Cyril. He's done a great job of connecting [the Senators] to the community."
Leeder also tendered his resignation. He received a reply from the mayor that included the following: "I understand entirely your core business responsibilities for the Ottawa Senators and Senators Sports & Entertainment must take precedence for you at this time." An Ottawa Senators spokesperson has said that at this time, Leeder has chosen not to comment.
