The Ottawa Senators and National Capital Commission (NCC) say they've taken the next step toward building a major events centre and surrounding district on the western edge of the city's downtown.

The NCC and Capital Sports and Development Inc., the corporation representing the Senators in the project, put out a joint statement Monday afternoon about their work to build a new arena.

"[We] have signed an agreement of purchase and sale for land parcels totalling approximately 11 acres at LeBreton Flats," it said.

"Both parties can proceed with next steps in the project. These include zoning, design and approvals, as well as decontamination of the land parcels to prepare for construction," it went on to say.

The Senators declined further comment on Monday.

The two sides reached an agreement in principle on the project last September. That followed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 and extensions to allow for the team's 2023 sale to Michael Andlauer.

The Senators have been working on their next arena for several years, including a failed LeBreton Flats bid that fell apart around the end of 2018 under previous team owner Eugene Melnyk.

The current Senators arena is the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, about 23 kilometres west of Parliament Hill — and 21 kilometres west of the land parcel being eyed for the arena.

The agreement in principle was about land on the north side of Albert Street between City Centre Avenue and Preston Street, between the Bayview and Pimisi light rail stops.