{"id":4543,"date":"2023-01-06T16:43:02","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T21:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/?p=4543"},"modified":"2023-01-06T16:43:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T21:43:22","slug":"the-nhl-ottawa-senators-might-have-its-first-black-team-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/the-nhl-ottawa-senators-might-have-its-first-black-team-owner\/","title":{"rendered":"The NHL Might Soon Have Its First Black Team Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If investor and entrepreneur Neko Sparks has his way, he will buy the Ottawa Senators and become the NHL’s first Black team owner in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per The Athletic<\/a>, Sparks is part of a group that is planning to bid on the franchise when the sales process officially opens up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The L.A.-based Sparks, who owns a diverse portfolio of companies, wants to add history to his resume by becoming the first Black owner of an NHL franchise. According to The Athletic, he would lead a group consisting of 13-15 investors from the U.S. and Canada. Even more significantly, approximately 75% of the ownership group would consist of people of color. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the group has the money to make it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are looking at going to upwards of $950 million for the team. If they have to go there, they will,\u201d said The Athletic’s source. \u201cThey have the backers and the financial instruments to pull this off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forbes, which ranked the franchise as the NHL’s 24th-most valuable team, is valued at $800 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Sparks’ lead group doesn’t plan on letting the team sit in that position if they acquire it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey think the Senators are at the bottom of the list in terms of franchise valuation and they see a lot of ways to increase that valuation,\u201d said that source.<\/p>

\r\n
\r\n