(Quebec) It’s still preliminary. But discussions have begun and involve the Legault government, the National Hockey League, Quebecor and the Ottawa Senators so that this team presents five games at the Videotron Center in Quebec City next season.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
On the sidelines of these talks, in Quebec, we have the feeling of walking on eggshells; a premature announcement is likely to raise questions from Senators fans and their sponsors, it is warned. Especially against the backdrop of the death of club owner Eugene Melnyk on Monday.
But according to the sources of The Press, it was Gary Bettman who himself put forward such a scenario during his virtual meeting with the Quebec Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, in mid-January. And he seemed convinced that it would be done without too many obstacles, we confide.
During the meeting, the great financier of the Legault government asked Mr. Bettman what could be done to demonstrate that Quebec City is a market for the NHL. The commissioner of the League then raised the idea of presenting a few matches of a team’s season.
Subsequently, the NHL presented a scenario to Quebec to verify its interest in hosting five Senators games. The financial package is “in preparation”, but not finished, it is specified.
The Senators would obviously demand a fee to give up these five games on the quarantine presented at home in season. The figure would not yet be decided, it seems. The Legault government could be invited to contribute, but we see for him rather another avenue.
Those in charge of the file are convinced that sponsors will not be lacking in Quebec to finance these matches. Moreover, it seems obvious that the games would be sold out.
The Government of Quebec could, it is explained, play a support role, to guarantee potential losses of the operation, very unlikely given the foreseeable enthusiasm.
There would be a cost, “but that’s not what is at stake, it’s more the signal that the team would give by playing away games, it’s very sensitive for the Senators”, explains -your.
Eric Girard surveyed the interest of major sponsors and the response was positive. Negotiations were taking place quite recently, especially between the Senators and Quebecor, the manager of the Videotron Center – an infrastructure belonging to the City of Quebec.
Asked to comment on the news, a spokesperson for the Senators replied that he would come back to us “if he had new information”.
A dream opportunity
Important clarification: these negotiations are not aimed at a possible shared custody of the Senators between Ottawa and Quebec, or even a move of the club to the Quebec capital. It was always only about the presentation of five games.
But if a National League team became available, these games in Quebec would be “the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that Quebec is a serious market for any franchise that is in difficulty,” we explain.
Such a breakthrough would be excellent news for the Legault government, since Minister Girard’s approaches to Gary Bettman had been ridiculed by many columnists in January.
Exactly 10 years ago, on March 25, 2012, Quebecor and the City of Quebec reached an agreement on the management of the sports center which cost 400 million in public funds and which remains underused. Construction work on the 18,000-seat arena began in September 2012, and the building was delivered in June 2015.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Videotron Center in Quebec
Minister Girard had the mandate to study the possibility of a return of an NHL team to Quebec. Publicly, the January meeting ended with a dismissal from the league, which saw “no opportunity” to meet the expectations of Minister Girard.
Death Monday evening following a long illness, at 62, the owner of the Senators, Eugene Melnyk, was still in business at the beginning of March. In the government, it was explained on Tuesday that this disappearance was likely to impose a pause on the still preliminary discussions. Melnyk is survived by two daughters who have no interest in the hockey industry, it also says.
“The franchise will continue to follow its path, as usual, responded Bettman Tuesday at a press conference. Professional managers are in place. I spoke with his executor. Want to know what the future will hold? I’d rather we focus on Eugene. His daughters, Olivia and Anna, will give you all the answers eventually. »
It is known that the Ottawa team has serious problems, forced to play in an amphitheater far from downtown Ottawa. The most recent arena project in the heart of the city, a development plan called RendezVous LeBreton, ended in a tailspin after a dispute between Melnyk and his partner John Ruddy.
The Ontario franchise has had one of the lowest attendances in the league for several seasons. Games behind closed doors skewed the most recent data, but crowds, already small before the pandemic, did not regain much strength with the end of the lockdown.
The NHL must periodically pull out its checkbook to cover the team’s losses. Already, in the early 2010s, Melnyk had also publicly declared that he had no intention of following the owners of the biggest clubs in the league, who spent lavishly.
Conversely, in Quebec, the amphitheater which was to preside over the return of the Nordiques remained little used. On the sports side, it only presents the matches of the Quebec Remparts, of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
With the collaboration of Tommy Chouinard, The Press