Canadian Tire Centre Candian Tire Centre is a 19 , 153 capacity arena , home to the NHL ' s Ottawa Senators . The arena is located in Kanata , a district of Ottawa , Ontario . Opened as The Palladium in January 1996 , it was known as the Corel Centre from February 1996 until February 2006 . From 2006 - 2013 , it was called the Scotiabank Place . Besides ice hockey , the arena holds other events , such as rock concerts , figure skating shows and other entertainment . It is also home to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame , several restaurants , a fitness complex and several businesses . Including standing room , the arena has a capacity of 20 , 500 for sports events . It has resemblance to The Palace of Auburn Hills . History . As part of its bid to land a NHL franchise for Ottawa , Terrace Corporation unveiled the original proposal for the arena development at a press conference in September 1989 . The proposal included a hotel and 20 , 500 seat arena , named The Palladium on 100 acres , surrounded by a 500 acres mini - city , named " West Terrace . " The site itself , 600 acres of farmland , on the western border of Kanata , had been acquired in May 1989 by Terrace . The large site had previously been a possible location for a new home for the Central Canada Exhibition , but the Exhibition ' s option on the property had expired . The site was farmland and required a rezoning to proceed with construction . The then - City of Kanata supported the rezoning , but the provincial government and some local residents opposed the rezoning , forcing public hearings into the proposal by the Ontario Municipal Board . Rezoning approval was granted by the Board on August 28 , 1991 , with conditions . The conditions imposed by the board included a scaling down of the arena to 18 , 500 seats , a moratorium on development outside the initial 100 acres arena site , and that the cost of the highway interchange with highway 417 be paid by Terrace . A ground - breaking ceremony was held in June 1992 but actual construction did not start until July 7 , 1994 . The two year period was used seeking financing for the site and interchange by Terrace Corporation . The corporation received a $ 6 million grant from the federal government , but needed to borrow to pay for the rest of the costs of construction . On August 17 , 1993 , Bruce Firestone , the Senators owner , was replaced by Rod Bryden , a former high tech tycoon , who assumed control of Terrace Corporation . Bryden managed to borrow enough to pay for the $ 188 million project through a consortium of U . S . banks and Ogden Entertainment , but could not find financing for the highway interchange . Only after the provincial government provided a loan guarantee for the highway interchange financing did construction proceed . Actual construction took 18 months , finishing in January 1996 . The Palladium opened on January 15 , 1996 with a concert by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams . The first NHL game took place two days later , with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Senators 3 - 0 . On February 17 , 1996 the name ' Palladium ' was changed to the ' Corel Centre ' when Corel Corporation , an Ottawa software company , signed a 10 - year deal for the naming rights . When mortgage holder Covanta Energy ( the former Ogden Entertainment ) went into receivership in 2001 , Terrace was expected to pay off the whole debt . The ownership was not able to refinance the arena , eventually leading to Terrace itself declaring bankruptcy in 2003 . However , on August 26 2003 , billionaire businessman Eugene Melnyk finalized the purchase of the Senators and the arena . The arena and club became solely owned by Melnyk through a new company , Capital Sports Properties . In 2004 , the ownership applied to expand its seating . The City of Ottawa amended its by - laws in December 2004 and in 2005 , the venue was allowed to increase its seating capacity to 19 , 153 and total attendance to 20 , 500 when including standing room . Also in 2005 , the arena became home to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame , with a display on the second - floor concourse . Information of over 200 inductees is detailed on individual plaques . The exhibit display had previously been located at the Ottawa Civic Centre since 1967 . On January 19 , 2006 , the arena became known as ' Scotiabank Place ' after reaching a new 15 year naming agreement with Canadian bank Scotiabank on January 11 , 2006 , Scotiabank had been an advertising partner with the club for several years and took over the naming after Corel declined to renew its naming agreement with the Senators , but continued as an advertising sponsor . Location . Although widely acknowledged as a well - designed arena , it has been criticized in the years since construction for being difficult to reach . It is located in the far west - end of Ottawa , in the former city of Kanata , which puts it at a fair distance from some parts of the urban areas , especially from the east - end of Ottawa or from the Outaouais region . Difficulties are compounded by frequent traffic congestion at game time along the Queensway ( 417 ) highway , Palladium Drive and Terry Fox Drive . Another problem is the isolation of the arena from many restaurants and bars , which makes it difficult for celebrations to continue naturally after the game as in many other more centrally located arenas .