Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk said that selling tickets "is particularly difficult in Ottawa because the city’s two biggest employers -- the federal and municipal government -- are not permitted to purchase tickets," according to Ken Warren of the OTTAWA CITIZEN. Melnyk, speaking on CJCL-AM, said, "We are a very regional market. Our biggest employer in the city can’t buy tickets, nor can they buy tickets or give tickets. The number two biggest employer is the city and they can’t buy tickets or give tickets. We’re number 29 out of 30 in corporate opportunities and it is not easy." Warren noted the Senators’ payroll is C$54.345M, "far below" the NHL salary cap of C$69 million. Melnyk suggested that it is "not feasible to raise ticket prices substantially to increase revenues." He insists that the club’s emphasis on "developing young talent, rather than trading for higher-priced veterans, is sound business practice." None of what Melnyk said "is new, but the timing is intriguing, coming with Senators fans unsure of exactly what to expect from the team which traded away Jason Spezza last summer and is coming off an 11th place finish in the Eastern Conference" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 9/17).
