​The Ottawa Charge of the Premier Women’s Hockey League will relocate their home games to the Canadian Tire Centre, the Ottawa home of the Senators, beginning with the 2026-27 season. The team announced the move at a press conference on Thursday afternoon. “Senators Sports & Entertainment is proud to officially welcome the Ottawa Charge to Canadian Tire Centre,” said SS&E president and chief executive officer Cyril Leeder in a statement. “The Ottawa-Gatineau region is fortunate to have two professional hockey teams competing at the highest level. In a short period of time, the Charge have built a substantial following and fan base, and they have become an important part of our local hockey ecosystem.”
Previously, the Charge played their first three seasons at TD Place in the Lansdowne Park area of Ottawa. In November, Ottawa approved a $419 million redevelopment plan for Lansdowne Park that included a smaller event centre with seating for 5,850 and a maximum capacity of 6,600, a change from the current TD Place which holds 8,500 fans. In a pointed op-ed published in the Ottawa Citizen in November, Amy Scheer, the PWHL’s executive vice-president of hockey operations, described the development as perhaps the most disappointing moment she had witnessed in her four decades in professional sports.
The Charge had game day experiences at the Canadian Tire Centre during the Walter Cup playoffs this past spring, advancing to a championship final series against the Montreal Victoire. Attendance at CTC set records for PWHL playoff games in Ottawa, including a first-round milestone: Game 1 of the Walter Cup series against Montreal drew 16,894 fans, the league’s single-game playoff attendance record. Ottawa ultimately fell to the Victoire in four games to claim the championship. In another milestone, a regular-season meeting with the Victoire on April 3 drew 17,114 spectators, marking the highest-attended women’s hockey game ever recorded in Ottawa.
Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld commented on the transition, saying, “As the Charge community continues to grow, the move to the Canadian Tire Centre will position us to welcome more fans and continue building a memorable experience for our players and supporters. TD Place was the foundation of our early success, and we’re deeply grateful for the energy our fans brought to every game in that building. In the playoffs, we saw that they could recreate that magic at CTC, and we’re excited to keep that momentum going in our new home.” The Charge’s path to this move follows the team’s positive reception at the Canadian Tire Centre during postseason play, which illuminated the potential for larger audiences and more expansive game-day experiences.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic. The details pertain to Ottawa Senators, the Ottawa Charge, the NHL, and women’s hockey as of 2026.