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.
Per The Athletic, Sparks is part of a group that is planning to bid on the franchise when the sales process officially opens up.
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.
And the group has the money to make it happen.
“They are looking at going to upwards of $950 million for the team. If they have to go there, they will,” said The Athletic’s source. “They have the backers and the financial instruments to pull this off.”
Forbes, which ranked the franchise as the NHL’s 24th-most valuable team, is valued at $800 million.
But the Sparks’ lead group doesn’t plan on letting the team sit in that position if they acquire it.
“They 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,” said that source.
We will keep you updated as the situation unfolds.
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