Bruce Firestone

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Bruce Firestone (b. December 4, 1951 - ) of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is the founder of the modern-day Ottawa Senators NHL ice hockey club, entrepreneur-in-residence at the Telfer school of management at the University of Ottawa and a commercial real estate agent at Metro Suburban Realty Ltd in Ottawa. He was formerly an adjunct research professor at the school of architecture at Carleton University.

1 Education and business career
2 Bring Back The Senators
3 Ottawa Rough Riders
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Education and business career

Mr. Firestone has been active in Ottawa real estate since 1982 after completing his Ph. D. in Urban Economics at the Australian National University. His involvement started with his family's commercial real-estate firm, Terrace Investments.

Mr. Firestone founded the Ottawa Business News newspaper in the 1980s.

In 1985, Mr. Firestone proposed a casino for the Sparks Street Mall in Ottawa. This was not built, but a very successful casino has been built across the river in Gatineau, Quebec.

[edit] Bring Back The Senators

When the NHL announced that it was interested in expanding in the late 1980s, Mr. Firestone, then president of Terrace Investments formed an organization to win an NHL franchise for Ottawa. Mr. Firestone's vision was to use the club as the centerpiece of a new commercial development to the west of the City of Ottawa. A new arena would be built, increasing land values in the surrounding area to the point where the expected franchise fee of $30 million US dollars (it would actually be $50 million) could be raised through land sales and commercial development fees and profits.

Mr. Firestone's group was successful in winning a new franchise, along with the Tampa Bay Lightning, on condition that the franchise would build a new arena to NHL standards. The arena development would lead to Mr. Firestone leaving the Ottawa Senators organization.

The arena location, on undeveloped farmland, was controversial, and opposition grew against the paving over of the farmland. Eventually, the government agency responsible for local development, allowed the development of the Arena, but not the surrounding lands. Most of the lands are still vacant today.

As well, as part of the development agreement for the new arena, then known as the Palladium, the Ontario government required that the corporation paid for all of the required infrastructure, including a freeway interchange. Mr. Firestone has estimated the cost of limiting development to only 100 acres of the 600, at $80 million in value lost.^[1]

These conditions led to the search for new financing. The search led to the turnover of the ownership of the Ottawa Senators to a partnership led by Rod Bryden. Mr. Bryden was able to arrange financing of the development through a partnership with Ogden Entertainment and Mr. Firestone left to allow the franchise to continue. Ironically, the partnership with Ogden Entertainment, while ensuring the NHL franchise would continue, would lead to Mr. Bryden's exit when Ogden itself went bankrupt while holding the mortgage on the arena, due to losses in the energy business.

[edit] Ottawa Rough Riders

After the Senators, Dr. Firestone purchased the Ottawa Rough Riders football club from Bernie Glieberman in 1994. Firestone would be chair of the club until it ceased operations after the 1996 season.