Ottawa Senators Game Tips: Tickets, Food & Getting Home
A Senators game turned out to be one of the best-value nights of our Ottawa trip. Tickets cost far less than what we're used to on the West Coast, and we got seats the same day. The night wasn't completely smooth, though. We ate at the wrong spot, took a highway-side walk, and had a stressful hunt for an Uber at the end. Here's what we learned, so your game night goes better than ours.
Plan Your Evening
The arena isn't downtown. The Canadian Tire Centre is out in Kanata, about a 25 to 30-minute drive west of the city centre. Plan your evening around that.
Eat downtown, then Uber over. We grabbed dinner at Fratelli in Kanata near the arena. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. Then we walked to the game to skip arena traffic. It's under 30 minutes on foot, but about half of it runs along sidewalks beside the highway, so it's not a pleasant walk. Next time we'd eat downtown, where the restaurant options are far better, and take an Uber straight to the arena.
Getting Home
Know where the Uber pickup is before the game ends. Getting home was a bit of a gong show. Nobody seemed to know where rideshares were meant to pick up, and with my phone battery dying, we started to worry we'd be stuck. Here's the trick: follow the long covered walkway out of the arena (everyone will be heading that way). The Uber pickup is just to your left at the end. It isn't marked, so it's easy to miss.
More tips for game night
- Charge your phone and bring a battery pack. Your tickets, your ride home, and your map all live on it. Learn from me.
- Expect surge pricing after the final buzzer. Either book your ride as you walk out, or hang back 15 to 20 minutes and let the crowd thin out. Prices and wait times usually drop.
- Screenshot or add your tickets to your phone's wallet before you arrive, in case the arena's cell signal is spotty with thousands of people online at once.
- Dress for the walk, not just the seats. Ottawa winters are no joke, and you'll be outside waiting for your ride.
