Ali Shafaee, the regional vice-president of Live Nation Canada, presides over History Ottawa, the new club he calls a "sweet spot" for Ottawa music fans. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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The first thing that struck me about History Ottawa was the location of the stage.

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After strolling through the main doors on Rideau Street, I expected to see the stage situated at the far-off, narrow end of the rectangle-shaped room. To my surprise, it was located on the long wall, the one backing onto Sussex Drive.

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Smart choice, I thought. The placement will allow more fans to get closer to the action on stage, and reduce the chances of being stuck in a back corner where you can’t see.

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History Ottawa features premium mezzanine seating that overlooks the general-admission area in front of the stage. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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“The concept here is you come in, and you’re no more than 100 feet from your favourite artist,” Ali Shafaee, Ottawa’s regional vice-president for Live Nation Canada, said during a tour of the new space, formerly a Chapters bookstore. “It’s all about being able to see your artist up close and personal, and being able to feel the experience of not only the artist, but also the person next to you.”

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Two years in the making, the long-awaited new club is a sister venue to History in Toronto and the first in Live Nation’s long-range plan to expand to other Canadian cities. Hip-hop superstar Drake is a partner in both the Ottawa and Toronto locations.

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Backstage, the dressing rooms are spacious and well-equipped with comfortable furniture and deluxe washroom facilities. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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But, when asked if Drake would attend this week’s grand opening, one staffer joked that she was not at liberty to discuss the matter.

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In Ottawa, the two-level layout, capital-H branding and sleek, sophisticated aesthetic are similar to Toronto’s History, although the Ottawa building is a little smaller, with capacity pegged at 2,000, about 500 fewer than Toronto.

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A few other features set History Ottawa apart, starting with the uncommonly wide, 80-foot stage that looks like it could accommodate a philharmonic orchestra. Then there are the lofty ceilings above it, higher than Toronto, as well as a backdrop adorned with a floor-to-ceiling LED/video wall that Live Nation staff say is the largest in the city.

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The Rideau Street venue also counts two VIP areas unique to Ottawa. One is a 200-person premium VIP lounge on the second floor that will be operated by an outside partner, Ottawa restauranteur Todd Brown, and available for special-event rentals on non-show days.

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The premium VIP lounge on the second floor is available for rentals on non-show days at History Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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The other VIP area, also on the second floor, is a fully equipped, private lounge with a viewing balcony next to the stage designed to accommodate an A-lister and their entourage, such as a head of state, perhaps, or even Drake himself.

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The second floor also holds 162 reserved seats in three rows with a great view of the stage, including six for accessibility needs, as well as washrooms, bars and an elevator to get there. General-admission ticket holders can stand behind the rows.

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A concierge desk welcomes patrons to the second floor of History Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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“We have a very strong music market in Ottawa,” Shafaee said. “We know that festivals this year had great success in Ottawa and we’re seeing shows all performing really well. We’ve got a bunch of sold-out shows already, and the other shows we have on sale are doing very well.”

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The first show is a sold-out gig featuring American roots-rockers the Wallflowers on Aug. 20. Upcoming shows by Kaleo (Sept. 9), Marianas Trench (Oct. 24), Modest Mouse (Oct. 4) and Dwayne Gretzky (Oct. 30) are on track to selling out, too.

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The main entrance to History Ottawa is on Rideau Street, while the loading zone is on George Street in the ByWard Market. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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With the building straddling Rideau Street and the ByWard Market, there are also high hopes the venue will help revitalize the beleaguered Market. Two thousand people attending about 150 shows a year will bring an extra 300,000 consumers to the downtown area, Shafaee estimated.

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“It’s super important to us to be able to bring people all the way from Orléans to Kanata to Carleton Place to Gatineau into the ByWard Market to experience a show and go have dinner before. Or maybe they want to go see a store at the Rideau Centre that they haven’t gone to in a while,” Shafaee said. “Those are the types of things that I think will really help revitalize the area.”