Black Bears reportedly won’t return to Kanata next season, NLL responds
The image of Canadian Tire Centre is licensed under the public domain.
MATT VOLZ
Editor in Chief
It’s been a little over a month since the Toronto Rock hoisted the NLL Cup, and the league is already facing a potential team crisis.
Earlier this week, the Ottawa Black Bears emailed ticket holders with a sudden and bizarre announcement, stating that the team will no longer play their home games at Canadian Tire Centre.
According to CBC, the message said that all fans who purchased tickets will receive a refund within 10 business days.
The email also directed fans to the NLL for any further questions.
No ownership change or relocation plan was announced prior to the email, causing confusion among fans across the league.
Yesterday, the NLL responded to the situation with a statement published on social media.
“The National Lacrosse League is aware that following its termination of GF Lacrosse LLC’s ownership of the Ottawa Black Bears, the Club informed select ticket holders that ‘the Black Bears will no longer be playing at Canadian Tire Centre,’” the statement read. “The NLL’s intention is to keep the franchise in the Ottawa-Gatineau region and continue to grow the Black Bears’ loyal and passionate fan base.”
While the NLL’s statement confirmed an ownership change for the team, it left fans with far more questions than answers.
The league said it had terminated GF Lacrosse LLC’s ownership of the team, but it didn’t give a reason as to why the decision was made.
GF Lacrosse LLC is a subsidiary of GF Sports & Entertainment, a live entertainment company originally based out of New York City.
The lacrosse subsidiary oversaw the Black Bears’ 2024 relocation from New York City, where they were known as the New York Riptide.
The Riptide selected forward Jeff Teat with the first overall pick in 2020, securing the franchise a young superstar to build around.
Despite his stellar young career, which included being named Rookie of the Year in 2022, the team failed to succeed and draw crowds in New York.
Since moving to Ottawa, the on-field product has been slightly better, but attendance hasn’t improved as much as they’d hoped.
The Black Bears have finished 8-10 in both of their seasons in Ottawa so far, missing the playoffs both times.
That’s a step forward from their days in New York, where they compiled a dismal 20-47 overall record across four seasons.
Attendance, though, hasn’t increased to the level the franchise desired upon moving north of the border.
Average in-season attendance for the New York Riptide (2020-24):
- 2020 (season shortened due to COVID-19): 4,157 fans per game
- 2021: Season cancelled due to COVID-19
- 2022: 4,267 fans per game
- 2023: 4,611 fans per game
- 2024: 4,891 fans per game
Average in-season attendance for the Ottawa Black Bears (2025-26):
- 2025: 5,434 fans per game
- 2026: 4,651 fans per game
According to NLL insider Adam Levi, their peak in-season average attendance in 2025 ranked ninth out of 14 teams that season.
Another part of the issue with the Black Bears has to do with where their arena is located.
Canadian Tire Centre, the home of both the Black Bears and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, is located outside Ottawa in the western suburb of Kanata.
It takes roughly 30 minutes to drive from downtown Ottawa to Kanata, and that’s not including any traffic delays.
Because of this, the Senators have engaged in discussions to build an arena closer to downtown.
According to the Ottawa Citizen, the Senators have eyed an 11-acre parcel of land in the neighborhood of LeBreton Flats, located just west of downtown Ottawa.
If this new hockey arena comes to fruition, that would provide a possible new home for the Black Bears that would keep them in Ottawa.
But before any of that is agreed upon, the NLL must find an ownership group that is capable of keeping the Black Bears in Ontario.
The league’s wording was interesting in the statement. The NLL “terminated” the group’s ownership of the team, but why?
That’s a question many fans, especially Black Bears fans, are hoping to have answered in the near future.
Until then, the long-term outlook of the organization may be in jeopardy.
