OTTAWA, ON – National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman says the new owner of the Ottawa Senators will likely be announced by “early mid-summer,” and has reiterated his stand that the team will not be leaving the city.
“I have no announcement to make,” Bettman told reporters at a pre-game news conference at Canadian Tire Centre, where the Senators are taking on the Florida Panthers Monday evening.
Bettman confirmed there remain “somewhere around six” groups vying to purchase the team, but he offered no clues as to who they are, or who might be leading the pack.
“I know there’s been a lot of speculation about who the bidders are, what they’re prepared to pay — I think ignoring the speculation would be a good idea because most of it has been inaccurate,” he said, urging patience.
“We’re not on the clock. The goal is to get it right, and if it takes a little longer, it takes a little longer.”
Bettman said he expects the selection process, which is being managed by New York investment bankers Galatioto Sports Partners, to take another six weeks, and described it as “among the most vibrant processes I’ve ever seen.”
Senators staying in Ottawa
Bettman dashed any speculation that the franchise could relocate to another city, confirming any move will be to downtown Ottawa.
“If the team is going to move, the only move that will be permitted is downtown. The … Senators are not leaving Ottawa,” he told reporters.
Other details, such as the precise location of any new arena, will be up to the successful bidder and new owner of the franchise, Bettman said, though he did express some skepticism about the suitability of LeBreton Flats due to its size.
“I don’t know whether or not 6.3 or 6.9 acres is enough…. It struck me as being a little small,” Bettman said, expressing concern about space for parking, loading and other utilities.
“There are options downtown, and that’s always a good thing to have.”
He reiterated that the ultimate decision about a new arena, and what to do with Canadian Tire Centre if the team does move downtown, will be up to the new owners.
“That will all be up to the successful bidder and the new owner of the franchise,” he said.
Rampant speculation
Bettman’s visit to Ottawa comes amid rampant speculation about the team’s prospective buyers.
Actor Ryan Reynolds has reportedly teamed up with Toronto-area developers The Remington Group. Both Bettman and Daly have indicated the movie star’s involvement could be a huge boon to both the franchise and the league.
Toronto billionaire and minority Montreal Canadiens owner Michaal Andlauer has put in a bid, as have the Kimel brothers of Harlo Capital, according to both CBC sources and other news outlets.
Like Andlauer, Jeffrey Kimel is already involved in the NHL as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins management committee.
According to The Athletic, Los Angeles-based AI entrepreneur Neko Sparks is preparing a bid, and even retweeted a post by that publication about his interest in the Senators.
With the franchise expected to cost more than $800 million — and NHL brass trying to talk the price up even higher — the new owners are expected to be a consortium led by a deep-pocketed tycoon from afar that includes local minority shareholders to provide some hometown flavour.
CBC News has learned of at least three local parties involved in larger bids: the Malhotra family of Claridge Homes; Jean-Pierre Poulin of Devcore; and Jeff York of the Farm Boy grocery stores.
It’s not clear which prospective bidders the local parties are aligned with.
‘Very constructive’ meetings with mayor, NCC
Earlier on Monday, Bettman dropped by Ottawa city hall for a lunch meeting and photo op with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, before meeting with National Capital Commission (NCC) CEO Tobi Nussbaum.
Bettman described both meetings as “very constructive.” Sutcliffe joined Bettman at Monday’s pre-game news conference, though the mayor didn’t sit behind the table with the NHL commissioner.
The team is officially for sale after Eugene Melnyk died last year. Melnyk’s daughters, who currently own the team, have signed an agreement to build a new arena on LeBreton Flats, but it’s not binding.
Capital Sports and Entertainment Group (CSEG), which owns the Senators, inked a memorandum of understanding with the NCC last year to build an arena on LeBreton Flats. Their partners include Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster.
The proposal would see a major events centre, with additional mixed use development, on a 2.6-hectare site on Albert Street.
The NCC is hoping to sign a lease this fall, but there’s nothing compelling the team’s new owners to go through with the LeBreton deal.
On Monday, NCC spokesperson Valérie Dufour told CBC the meeting between Bettman and Nussbaum “was very positive, with both parties recognizing the value and opportunity for the Ottawa Senators and the National Hockey League to build a downtown arena at LeBreton Flats.”
Mixed messages about arena location
NHL executives have signalled for years that they want the Senators to move from Canadian Tire Centre to a downtown arena, but they’ve been sending mixed messages about whether that necessarily means a move to LeBreton Flats.
In February, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who joined Bettman in Ottawa on Monday, told The Bob McCown Podcast that Lebreton Flats is “certainly a relevant part of the mix,” but might not be “an essential element.”
Last week, Sutcliffe told TSN1200 that LeBreton is “not the only location” up for consideration.
During last fall’s election campaign, Sutcliffe was staunchly opposed to any direct municipal funding of a new arena, and in December told CBC he didn’t “support a cash contribution from the city of Ottawa.”
Last week, however, he appeared less certain.
“I’m not a fan of putting city money into an arena, but it depends on so many factors,” he told reporters. “I think it’s too early to have that conversation.”
