Michael Andlauer would talk to LeBreton Flats about building a new arena
The Ottawa Senators have an agreement in principle with a new owner, and people are excited about what this could mean for the future of the team, the city, and a possible new arena.
After months of rumors, celebrity interest, and rumors of tense bidding wars, the franchise announced on Tuesday that Michael Andlauer’s group was the winning bidder.His ownership still needs to be finalized, but no one knows when.
Mark Sutcliffe, the mayor of Ottawa, said he sent Andlauer a message of congratulations and hopes to have a more in-depth conversation with him in the next few days.
“This person wants to put hundreds of millions of dollars into our city because they think it has a lot of potential. Sutcliffe said, “I think that’s very exciting and a good sign for our city.
Thomas Chabot, a Senators defenseman and alternate captain, said he was glad to see the end of what he called “a long process” to find a new owner for the team.
“That’s pretty cool. Chabot said, “It’s a big deal for the whole team and the whole city of Ottawa, and I think a lot of good will come from it.”
Part of the talk will be about where the team will play its games in the long run and whether or not there will be a new arena downtown.
Earlier this year, the National Capital Commission (NCC) talked with potential buyers of the Sens about the possibility of leasing land at Lebreton Flats. About a year ago, they agreed in writing to move there. This agreement in principle is the next step.
The NCC did not say if it had met with Andlauer, but in a statement it said, “We look forward to working with Mr. Andlauer and his partners on a lease agreement for a future major events center at LeBreton Flats.”
Efforts to move the team downtown have been going on for a few years, but Kanata-Carleton Liberal MP and former city councillor Jenna Sudds thinks the team can still do well at the Canadian Tire Centre, where it plays now.
“It’s clear that I’d love for the team to stay in Kanata. “That’s where my heart is, and I know it’s important to the people I represent,” said Sudds.
Quiet owner of other team
Sutcliffe said that he is sure that Andlauer is the right person to lead the team to victory in the future.
“Michael Andlauer is a person who wants to win the Stanley Cup. When I met him, he told me that. So, he likes hockey, he’s going to put money into the team, and I think we’ll see a winning team in the future,” Sutcliffe said.
WATCH | The mayor of Ottawa talks about the new owner:
Since 2009, Andlauer has owned a small share of the Montreal Canadiens. He also owns the junior hockey team Brantford Bulldogs, which he bought in Belleville in 2015 and moved to Hamilton.
Sources familiar with the bid say that the Malhotra family, who run the Ottawa-based developer Claridge Homes, and Jeff York, who used to be the CEO and is now a partner in the Farm Boy grocery chain, are also part of the ownership group.
Moshe Lander from the economics department at Concordia University in Montreal said that the new owner has been “rather invisible” in his other hockey ventures, so it’s unlikely that Andlauer will be directly involved in hockey operations.
Lander said, “That’s probably a good thing” when he saw a hockey team owner trust the staff in charge of hockey operations to run the team.
WATCH | What happens after the contract is signed:
Lander said that even though Andlauer could hire new people to run the team, it’s unlikely to happen soon.
That means sticking to a plan for the NHL draft in two weeks that the team’s owners who are leaving have already made, he said.