News Article: Quebec City, Andlauer and the Sparticat Fiasco

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I think it makes a ton of sense. Not everybody in Quebec wants to cheer for the Habs, and they're never getting a team back in Quebec City, so the Sens probably see an opportunity to grow some of their fan base there and try to be team B of the province.

 

[starling]

Wonder if home-and-home series with some other team could work, like they do in Europe.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Spartacat in a Nordiques jersey. it's right in front of our faces.

 

[starling]

Spartacat in a Nordiques jersey. it's right in front of our faces.

Stop trying to stir the drama. It's not going to happen.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Stop trying to stir the drama. It's not going to happen.

I'm not trying to stir up drama.

We don't have an arena, and our franchise has been unstable for a majority of its history. Our owner is flaunting a partnership with a group that has an arena and has openly been trying to attract an NHL franchise for a decade.

At the very least, some level of skepticism over this deal is warranted. They are now talking about a a desire to play regular season games in a different city. None of this is good. Best case scenario, it's a leverage play to get us the arena in Ottawa, worst case scenario, it's a backup plan if the prospect of a downtown arena within a reasonable timeframe falls through and continuing in Kanata become unmanageable.

I appreciate the level of trust and goodwill that people have with the new ownership, but this certainly is not a positive development.

 

[branch]

We need Crossride here, since he is our boots on the ground for all the French reporting.

It's an open secret that the only way Quebec will get a team is if they are a landing spot for Ottawa.

This is Andlauer telling the NCC and other stakeholders that he has options, and if they screw this up they potentially could cost Ottawa their team and anchor tenant for Lebreton.

Ottawa is not relocating tomorrow because the Kanata arena is still adequate. But once the NCC thing falls through and there is an election, they're pushing the entire process back by a few years. People shouldn't take the team in Ottawa for granted because while the NHL will only relocate as a last resort, that doesn't mean it's impossible, and les requins sense blood in the water.

A very important factor that you have to consider is that due to a deal that Bruce Firestone made, Ottawa has the rights to show games in the Canadiens regional territory (and vice versa). So this makes relocation to Quebec fairly seamless because there would be no dispute over any of the television territory.

You can pitch other spots where they could build in Ottawa if Lebreton falls through, but the reality is that involves significant negotiation with multiple levels of government and starting back at square one for what could be another 5-15 year process. What year did the Lebreton negotiations start in? If this doesn't get done before the Federal election, you're probably looking at a decade so far before a deal is even made.

I do not think they will relocate, but I also think people are far too blasé about the possibility. This is the type of thing where Sens fans should threaten to boycott corporate sponsors over the partnership with Quebec City. You're basically letting your wife go on a date with another man and saying "I'll see you in the morning", then being surprised when it leads to a divorce.

There isn't really any way to protest the NCC because it would probably just encourage them even more and they would decide that Michael Andlauer needs to commission a seven year study on which rare birds might be located near the area before he can build on the land, but they also need to hold six months of meetings to hammer out the legal criteria for what defines a bird as rare.

I'm not saying they are going to relocate, but as fans this should be taken very seriously because unlike Melnyk, Andlauer may be competent enough to relocate the team to his benefit.

Gotta say I agree with this a little bit. Something doesn't smell right about all this. His fetish for Quebec needs to end. I really wish we ended up with the Ryan Reynolds group

 

[Ouroboros]

How long before we play some regular season games in QC? Will they take some of the lower drawing games and play them in QC for additional revenue.

If it were up to Andlauer it would be happening now.

 

[branch]

Honestly kind of makes me sick to watch his overt courting of a market that is totally desperate on their knees for an NHL franchise

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Gotta say I agree with this a little bit. Something doesn't smell right about all this. His fetish for Quebec needs to end. I really wish we ended up with the Ryan Reynolds group

I'll preface this by saying that I think this is just good business if it is a leverage play. (But maybe it actually isn't because most of the fanbase is taking it laying down and this entire thing has fallen under the radar.)

I'm also not naive. I'm shocked at how many Sens fans are taking this laying down. This is the kind of thing where the fanbase should apply pressure by boycotting partners of the team until the deal is kiboshed.

NCC deal has presumably failed to materialize for almost the 10th straight year. Our owner is partnering with a city/group that will never get an expansion but has everything needed to be a landing spot for relocation. I think the dramatic or hotter take is "oh this is just for fun to reach out to our Francophone fanbase that is 500km away!".

Honestly kind of makes me sick to watch his overt courting of a market that is totally desperate on their knees for an NHL franchise

I'm gonna grab the Ceci jersey and picket outside of the Kanata Farm Boy.

 

[PlayersLtd]

It wouldn’t be the worst move for Ottawa to maybe play some games in QC, there are still hockey fans in QC who’ll never cheer for the Habs and cheer now for mainly Boston and the Avs and Ottawa does have a small presence among Montreal hockey fans who come to Ottawa to see games because it’s a fun weekend and a cheaper hockey ticket. This way Andlauer gets to extend his flank into the QC fanbase and go after those anti Habs fans / former Nordiqeus fans and lighten the financial load of season ticket holders in Ottawa by charging the same as previous years just with 1 or two fewer games, smaller package same price kinda thing. And 41 games is a lot for any hockey fan, playing games in QC versus the Habs for example would be such a wild atmosphere, it would stir up emotions that would be great for the players and fans. Games vs the Avs, seeing some of the old Nords like Sakic, Stasny skate in those old jerseys pre game would be special. Lots to like about it

Ottawa Senators - Quebec Nordiques - Dec 27, 1992 | NHL.com

NHL Gamecenter - Ottawa Senators vs. Quebec Nordiques, Dec 27, 1992 - summary, stats, boxscore, play by play, recap and more.

www.nhl.com

The cost of renting the Centre Videtron would need to be offset against the 'free' cost of playing at CTC, and parking revenue too. I have nothing against the idea but that's a pretty big number to make up.

Would be sweet if it happened and was against Colorado in the Nords throwbacks though.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Spartacat in a Nordiques jersey. it's right in front of our faces.

Andlauer’s first big mistake with the city.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Big fan of the Le Andy but this is his first L in the city. The Spartacat in a nordiques jersey plus wanting to play regular season games? Yeah f*** off with that shit.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Andlauer’s first big mistake with the city.

It's so stupid that it makes me think it's intentional to get the relocation talk trending and put pressure on the city, otherwise, they lose their anchor tenant.

Good luck building a 15k arena in Lebreton with the anchor tenant being the Almonte Inferno.

 

[PlayersLtd]

I'll preface this by saying that I think this is just good business if it is a leverage play. (But maybe it actually isn't because most of the fanbase is taking it laying down and this entire thing has fallen under the radar.)

I'm also not naive. I'm shocked at how many Sens fans are taking this laying down. This is the kind of thing where the fanbase should apply pressure by boycotting partners of the team until the deal is kiboshed.

NCC deal has presumably failed to materialize for almost the 10th straight year. Our owner is partnering with a city/group that will never get an expansion but has everything needed to be a landing spot for relocation. I think the dramatic or hotter take is "oh this is just for fun to reach out to our Francophone fanbase that is 500km away!".

It's an untapped fanbase, same as when the NHL plays in Europe. Going in your backyard (Gatineau) over and over has diminishing returns whereas finding new markets is the name of the game. Quebec City has tens of thousands of disenfranchised fans and Ottawa is wise to try to capitalize on this since nobody else is.

Occam's razor applies perfectly to the discussion happening around this.

 

[coladin]

This Melnykian slip by Andlauer is a beauty.

Go play the preseason games, knock yoursleves out. But to suggest regular season games for the Ottawa Senators is a moronic statement to make. He can say "I can't speak for the Ottawa Senators as we are very happy where we are with a new arena incoming, but I think the NHL should look at Quebec City the same way they look at Germany or Sweden and have some NHL games there'. Don't f***ing throw your team in there as one of the teams like that.

What an absolute donkey thing to say . And I don't care for mascots, but who the f*** allowed that jersey to see a camera? WTF is that, and a horrible message to project to your fans holy shit

 

[Cosmix]

It wouldn’t be the worst move for Ottawa to maybe play some games in QC, there are still hockey fans in QC who’ll never cheer for the Habs and cheer now for mainly Boston and the Avs and Ottawa does have a small presence among Montreal hockey fans who come to Ottawa to see games because it’s a fun weekend and a cheaper hockey ticket. This way Andlauer gets to extend his flank into the QC fanbase and go after those anti Habs fans / former Nordiqeus fans and lighten the financial load of season ticket holders in Ottawa by charging the same as previous years just with 1 or two fewer games, smaller package same price kinda thing. And 41 games is a lot for any hockey fan, playing games in QC versus the Habs for example would be such a wild atmosphere, it would stir up emotions that would be great for the players and fans. Games vs the Avs, seeing some of the old Nords like Sakic, Stasny skate in those old jerseys pre game would be special. Lots to like about it

Ottawa Senators - Quebec Nordiques - Dec 27, 1992 | NHL.com

NHL Gamecenter - Ottawa Senators vs. Quebec Nordiques, Dec 27, 1992 - summary, stats, boxscore, play by play, recap and more.

www.nhl.com

Playing meaningless preseason games in QC with an AHL roster is probably a better money-maker than playing those games in Ottawa where many fans don't attend those games.

QC could have purchased an NHL franchise before but could not put up the dough to pay for it and backed out. Hamilton has a better chance of getting an NHL franchise than QC.

 

[hockey20000]

starting to wonder if this is red flags starting to show up with the new owner.. he suddenly interested in quebec city what if he doesn't get the arena deal he wants is he gonna threaten to move us to quebec city since they already have a arena?

 

[Beech]

They're probably trying to grow the fanbase featuring Chabot who is a key player, Perron and then maybe Giroux if he re-signs and gain support for the idea of a downtown arena.

If this team ever was to move it wouldn't be to Quebec City, it would be moved to a bigger city. The only imminent move would be if the CTC was non-functional and the NCC and other options in Ottawa for an arena were going nowhere.

The Atlanta Thrashers and Arizona Coyotes both moved because they had no viable arena. The Thrashers had none. The Coyotes had that small university arena with no certainty on a new major league sports arena.

The Thrashers moved to a similar sized city in Winnipeg and the owners were complaining about fans not showing up, making threats about the long term viability of the franchise because people weren't buying tickets for a winning team. Can't imagine they're happy now with the dollar significantly lower.

The Coyotes moved to Utah, one of the richest cities in America with ~1.2M in the general area to pull from.

Ottawa is one of the richer cities in Canada despite having less corporate sponsorship opportunities.

As for this arena - the NCC seems to drag its feet on everything and so I can imagine that is frustrating but it's hard to buy-in completely to the narrative of the Senators franchise. I'm sure the NCC has some legitimate concerns. But for decades they've been a roadblock to any progress at all and not just on an arena.

you have never associated with, or had dealing with politicians, have you??????

This is par for the course.

This is who they are and how they behave. What you are seeing, and what everyone in Ottawa is seeing is normal.

For those that don't like it, here are some ball park numbers to chew on: ~ 65% of all eligible voters vote at the Federal level. ~ 50% at the Provincials level and ~ 40% at the Municipal level.

Ottawa is 1.2 M, ~ 75% are eligible to vote ~ 900,000... The mayor got 172 K, Them got 128 K, Other Candidates got a combined 100 K. Grand total 400 K ballots cast.

As an exercise, name your councilor, MPP and MP. Now impress the heck out of me and name your School board trustee. Impress me some more, provide me some details on: your councilor, MPP, MP, Trustee, Mayor, Premier and PM.

The NCC will be the NCC, until most Canadians stop being my Father. He shook Stephan Dion's hand and did not know who he was! Dion was the Liberal party leader at the time and had represented my Father's riding for 15 years. And my Father had voted for him at all elections.

 

[branch]

This is disgusting

 

[L'Aveuglette]

This Melnykian slip by Andlauer is a beauty.

Go play the preseason games, knock yoursleves out. But to suggest regular season games for the Ottawa Senators is a moronic statement to make. He can say "I can't speak for the Ottawa Senators as we are very happy where we are with a new arena incoming, but I think the NHL should look at Quebec City the same way they look at Germany or Sweden and have some NHL games there'. Don't f***ing throw your team in there as one of the teams like that.

What an absolute donkey thing to say . And I don't care for mascots, but who the f*** allowed that jersey to see a camera? WTF is that, and a horrible message to project to your fans holy shit

We rarely agree on anything but this is spot on. I have been in disbelief that ownership and marketing team would allow such an idiotic scheme.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

We rarely agree on anything but this is spot on. I have been in disbelief that ownership and marketing team would allow such an idiotic scheme.

It's so unbelievable that you have to assume there is an ulterior motive. They can't be this ignorant.

The Sparty tweet had hundreds of negative comments, and they doubled down and tweeted Sparty again an hour later, lol.

I think this is deliberate to put pressure on the NCC and the city. They want this reaction.

 

[PlayersLtd]

I'm just not seeing it. I watched that whole press conference and I see someone who is looking to take advantage of an orphaned untapped market that is ripe for the picking. It aligns with what he has said in the past and if Montreal isn't going to go near Quebec it makes sense for us to try to win those fans.

I can see how the Spartacat thing and the talk of regular season games could be off putting but I think it's just an opportunistic businessman who is looking to make an impression on the market. I really don't see why stitching our jersey with the Nordiques is so sacrilegious. Personally I would love it if there was some brotherhood that emerged between the two cities. It would be too bad if our insecurities got in the way of that.

For those who didnt get to the 29 minute mark he was asked point blank if Quebec could be an option in the future if Ottawa didn't work out and he said no in no uncertain terms and chuckled it off. Not that anyone would expect differently but his answer left nothing to read into.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Cyril Leeder was on TSN 1200 talking about it. Said they're doing this because their regional broadcasting rights go all the way to the Maritimes and everywhere that isn't Montreal is there for the taking. Also said that he'd probably take back the split jersey thing if he had a do-over.

 

[thinkwild]

From the SenaPred alliance to the SenaDique alliance? I guess we are still suffering a little ptsd and sensitivity over possibly losing our franchise. Hard to believe a confident market would be so outraged over a marketing move. Hard to imagine a businessman choosing to leave Ottawa for Quebec city. That would have to be quite the business plan. If only the fans could find the confidence they are wishing on our players.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Anyway, the sooner the NCC gets its shit together the sooner none of this discourse matters.