One day after the Ottawa Citizen reported that
potential U.S. buyers have expressed interest in paying
around C$200M to purchase the Senators and relocate the team
to the U.S., the OTTAWA SUN's Bruce Garrioch reports that
Oklahoma City "could be a frontrunner" to land the franchise
if "a decision is made to sell the team." Officials
representing Oklahoma were in Ottawa last week and met with
Senators Chair Rod Bryden. Sources tell the SUN that the
group is "made up of a consortium of Boston businessmen" who
are willing to pay US$120M to move the franchise. No
formal offer has been made for the team. Yesterday, Bryden
denied having talks with anyone on moving the team: "I have
not had discussions with any potential buyer to move the
team from Ottawa, nor are any such discussion planned at
this time" (OTTAWA SUN, 10/27). Meanwhile, the NHL denied
the Citizen report saying that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
had received "at least" three verbal offers from parties
interested in the Senators. NHL Group VP/Communications
Bernadette Mansur: "While we do receive expressions of
interest from potential ownership groups for NHL franchises
on a regular basis, there have been no discussion concerning
a sale and relocation of the Ottawa Senators. We have every
expectation that the Senators will be able to stay in
Ottawa" (NHL). In Ottawa, Allen Panzeri writes today that
if the Senators are sold to a U.S. group, "they'll likely
end up in Houston." Among interested parties listed:
Rockets Owner Les Alexander, IHL Aeros Owner Chuck Watson,
Houston NFL expansion team Owner Bob McNair,
Seahawks/Blazers Owner Paul Allen and NBA Kings Owners Joe
and Gavin Maloof (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 10/27).
POLL DATA: A poll of 438 Ottawa residents over two days
last week shows that 61% support tax breaks for the
Senators, while 39% are opposed. The poll, commissioned by
the OTTAWA SUN and conducted by Corporate Research Group,
has a margin of error of +/- 4.7% (OTTAWA SUN, 10/27).
