Senators about to be put up for Sale: Ryan Reynolds interested?

[GrumpyKoala]

I'm ready to trade Baltic Avenue and Reading Railroad if they're interested

I would have gone for Glendale Avenue but its already mortgaged.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

To be fair I have no clue where Kanata is compared to where ppl live

what's the future of the arena has to be in play in addition to who ultimately ends up succeeding the Melnyk trust

 

[scorpiorising]

what's the future of the arena has to be in play in addition to who ultimately ends up succeeding the Melnyk trust

Ahh yes I even forgot he died. RIP.

 

[Pavels Dog]

We should all pool our money together and buy them, do all our trades, drafting & signings via polls.

 

[bert]

Hopefully it gets relocated to either Hamilton (where it should have been all along), or Quebec City and let's get that Hab/Nordique rivalry going again.

Idiotic post. Neither market is remotely close to as good.

 

[Voight]

The last time the Lebreton arena deal was announced (5 years ago or so), there were 2 groups that wanted to buy the Sens and arena, even though they weren't for sale.

1. Desmarais / Laliberte (Cirque de Soleil) group wanted to buy the team / arena. Cirque wanted an arena in downtown Ottawa to have lots of their shows. Not sure if they are still interested, as I'm not sure if Cirque even exists anymore (they went bankrupt I think). Desmarais is extremely rich.

2. OSEG group (Lansdowne / 67s / Redblacks). They were partners with Eugene in the arena / condos development, which fell apart, which doesn't matter anymore as Melnyk isn't around (RIP). I think OSEG probably wants the Sens more than before because the Civic Centre (67s) needs replacing soon. Having the Lebreton arena would mean they don't have to build a new Civic Centre as the Sens and 67s could both play at Lebreton. I think this is the likely buyer.

Note: at the intermission feature just now, Bruce Garrioch mentioned both of these groups, as well as a guy from Hamilton that owns 20% of the Canadiens. He mentioned US investors as well. Mentioned that it's unknown if the Melnyk sisters will continue to own part of the team, or sell all of it.

Not surprising; Ottawa isn't exactly a town that's produced a ton of extremely wealthy individuals. Going to need outside guys to chip in.

 

[Chainshot]

The last time the Lebreton arena deal was announced (5 years ago or so), there were 2 groups that wanted to buy the Sens and arena, even though they weren't for sale.

1. Desmarais / Laliberte (Cirque de Soleil) group wanted to buy the team / arena. Cirque wanted an arena in downtown Ottawa to have lots of their shows. Not sure if they are still interested, as I'm not sure if Cirque even exists anymore (they went bankrupt I think). Desmarais is extremely rich.

2. OSEG group (Lansdowne / 67s / Redblacks). They were partners with Eugene in the arena / condos development, which fell apart, which doesn't matter anymore as Melnyk isn't around (RIP). I think OSEG probably wants the Sens more than before because the Civic Centre (67s) needs replacing soon. Having the Lebreton arena would mean they don't have to build a new Civic Centre as the Sens and 67s could both play at Lebreton. I think this is the likely buyer.

Note: at the intermission feature just now, Bruce Garrioch mentioned both of these groups, as well as a guy from Hamilton that owns 20% of the Canadiens. He mentioned US investors as well. Mentioned that it's unknown if the Melnyk sisters will continue to own part of the team, or sell all of it.

Tangential to the original topic, Cirque came out of their bankruptcy but not under the same ownership. What will Cirque du Soleil look like as it recovers from near-death experience?

Hopefully it gets relocated to either Hamilton (where it should have been all along), or Quebec City and let's get that Hab/Nordique rivalry going again.

MLSE will once again quietly block hockey in Hamilton to retain their monopoly on Southern Ontario and look to blame others.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

The only danger for relocation would be Quebec City - but even then it’s incredibly unlikely.

Team will probably be purchased by a group that wants to keep the team in Ottawa - and build an arena in downtown Ottawa.

Atlanta is waiting watching lurking

 

[JAS 39 Gripen]

Though the title said “Senator up for sale” and was like “Yeah no sh*t?…”

 

[Barrie22]

I wonder how much they sell for.

It will need to be at least 800+ Million.

Really interested to see what the group will look like.

The franchise was bought for 90 million and the worth of the franchise is now up to 550 million.

 

[Hasbro]

Wishing good luck to Sens Fans.

 

[topshelf15]

It's been 30 years and I can't think of a time when the Sens WERE NOT on some kind of budget. Please let them get a good owner.

This is season we have spent the most in team history...75 mil...Yeah people often wonder why we can draft and develop good players ,yet never go over the hump...This is why...First owner spent 46 in the non cap era as his highwater mark then his business tanked and he went bankrupt...Then EM

Buying a Canadian team who can't sell out the arena in the playoffs would be a red flag for me.

In the largest arena in the league...Ours can hold over 20k yet we were a maybe a 1000 under...Worrisome indeed

 

[Finnflash]

I can Betman now. Let’s put another team in Arizona.

 

[SensFactor]

Atlanta is waiting watching lurking

The team isn't being moved. They are building a downtown arena. Melynk daughters don't want to own a hockey team like their father.

 

[nickp91]

Sens will get bought by OSEG and the Sobeys conglomerate It is still possible the Melnyk sisters want to retain a stake

 

[These Are The Days]

This is season we have spent the most in team history...75 mil...Yeah people often wonder why we can draft and develop good players ,yet never go over the hump...This is why...First owner spent 46 in the non cap era as his highwater mark then his business tanked and he went bankrupt...Then EM


In the largest arena in the league...Ours can hold over 20k yet we were a maybe a 1000 under...Worrisome indeed

Bruce Firestone always struck me as a really good guy too. It's a shame he didn't have the money needed to keep it going. Those first years were absolute pain but by about 2001 the Sens were a juggernaut and any deeper pockets would've won them a Cup at least 20 years ago.

I've been lucky as a Lightning fan and hope to see the Sens fans have their moment too

 

[NorthCoast]

Lol at all the Relocation Talk.

I know a lot is in jest, but it's simply not going to happen.


- NHL Owners are not going to move a team to any new city if they can expand instead. So any relocation fee is going to be the same as the recent expansion fees.

- Ottawa breaks even now because so much of the revenue comes from non-gate sources. Gate revenue in Ottawa makes up only about 35% of total revenue, and the team is doing fine, spending near the cap. Why? TV, Sponsors, Gambling, Central Rev, etc. etc. They only still carry debt because Melnyk refused to pay it down. It's not from ongoing losses. It's just historic (and mostly goes all the way back to when EM purchased the sens).

- The Sens value increased by 20% last year. The city is one of the fastest growing in NA. There is the opportunity to build a new stadium downtown with much of it paid for by City/Fans/Developers ala Edmonton. No reason why Sens can't continue to see a massive increase in value over the next 10-20 years.


Therefore, the NHL doesn't want it moved (stated many times) and the owners would only move it if a new owner paid 600-700 mil on top of the 700-800 mil to buy the team (and of course there would still be the stadium cost in the new city).

Because of the relocation fee...No new owner is going to realize a better return on their investment in another city over the next 10-20 years than they will likely see in Ottawa.


PS: it's always curious to me when fans of large markets want small market franchises to move to larger markets as the only impact it would have on their own market is stronger competition.

 

[sennysensen]

Not surprising; Ottawa isn't exactly a town that's produced a ton of extremely wealthy individuals. Going to need outside guys to chip in.

The OSEG group with Ruddy, Greenberg (Minto), etc combined is wealthy enough, but not as individuals.

Tobi Lutke of Shopify is from and lives in Ottawa, is worth $3.4 Billion US$, about 2.5 times as wealthy as Melnyk could certainly afford it, but he has never given any indication that he's interested in sports or owning a team.

 

[lawrence]

Am I correct in saying that there's little/no danger of relocation so long as that new downtown arena development goes smoothly?

No bloody way. We were told the Vancouver grizzlies will not relocate. Money can do anything especially in a recession.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

GARRIOCH: Toronto-based investors have shown interest in purchasing Senators

Potential bidders have already thrown their name into the ring to purchase the Ottawa Senators.

ottawasun.com

Bruce mentions the Kimel brothers (former Pens minority owners), Michael Andlauer (owner of Hamilton Bulldogs and 20% of Habs), and Andre Desmarais as potential investors.

 

[Chet Manley]

The best part is where HF has to agree on a draft pick at #4

It would just be whichever player dropped down on Bob Mackenzie's list. Steal of the draft boys every year.

 

[HaNotsri]

If we each put in 500 bucks we'll only need like 1.2 million of us to contribute. No problem.

If 6000-7000 of donate 100k each that's probably enough.
I worry more about what comes after... what's our stance on uber rides?

 

[Crosside]

Ryan Reynolds Interested in Buying Ottawa Senators If the Team Comes Up for Sale: Source

Owning a professional sports team is not uncharted territory for the actor, who along with Rob McElhenney purchased the Welsh football club Wrexham AFC in 2021

news.yahoo.com

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

I would not be surprised if the team moved to the GTA. Only city in Canada that could easily have a new team.

Fighting off MLSE will be the biggest battle, but the time is right.

CityNews

toronto.citynews.ca

 

[Xirik]

The NHL will not allow the team to be moved, There is a prestige in having a sports team in the countries capitol.