The Ottawa Senators have begun the process to be put up for sale, Senators Sports and Entertainment announced on Friday.
One of the conditions of the sale is that the franchise remains in Ottawa.
In a statement, Sheldon Plener, chairman and governor of the Senators, said: “Galatioto Sports Partners has been retained as financial advisor and a process has been initiated for the sale of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club.
“This was a necessary and prudent step to connect with those deeply interested parties who can show us what their vision is for the future of the team.
“A condition of any sale will be that the team remains in Ottawa.
“The organization will have no further comment on this process at this time.”
The Senators’ decision to put the team up for sale comes after longtime owner Eugene Melnyk died in March.
Melnyk purchased the Senators in 2003 for US$92 million at a time when the franchise faced bankruptcy and a tenuous future in the nation’s capital.
Melnyk’s two adult daughters inherited the franchise and the team is in the early planning stages to build a new arena in LeBreton Flats closer to downtown from its current Kanata, Ont., arena.
“What comes first, a new arena or the sale of the team? Sources suggest the sale could be done much more quickly, but new ownership will want to make sure everything is lined up to build a new arena on an identified 7.5-acre tract of land in LeBreton Flats, just west of Parliament Hill,” Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan reported Wednesday.
A recent valuation from Sportico, an organization that reports on the business of sports, listed the Senators at $655 million.
More to come.
