It went down to the deadline, but the NHL's Ottawa Senators have an agreement to build a new arena downtown in Canada's capital. The Senators and the National Capital Commission announced an agreement at a joint news conference Friday that would see the Senators purchase a 10-acre plot at the downtown LeBreton Flats site for the development of a multi-purpose facility,

The Ottawa Senators reportedly have a deal with the National Capital Commission (NCC) to build a new NHL arena – technically an events centre – at LeBreton Flats. Today was the deadline for the two sides to agree on a deal and, according to Wayne Scanlan at Sportsnet, they managed to get things done.

So Friday’s announcement that the NCC and Senators have reached an agreement whereby the club will purchase just over 10 acres of land at LeBreton Flats is a welcome and significant step. It is, though, just a step in what will be an extremely long process, and one in which few details have yet been made available.