Senators' owner Michael Andlauer sends message to NCC officials

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Michael Andlauer has served notice to the National Capital Commission that he wants to get a deal for a new arena at LeBreton Flats across the finish line once and for all.

While the Ottawa Senators’ owner remains optimistic the two sides will get a final deal in place for the organization to purchase 10 acres of land to build a new arena at LeBreton Flats, Andlauer indicated there’s a lot of work left to be done between the organization and NCC officials.

Nearly four months after Senators’ president Cyril Leeder and NCC chief executive officer Tobi Nussbaum announced the landmark agreement for the club to purchase the land to build a new arena on the site located 10 minutes West of Parliament Hill the two sides are still trying to finalize the sale agreement.

“First, it’s a process,” Andlauer told TSN’s Claire Hanna after the second period of the club’s 4-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. “I was told that dealing with the NCC was going to be difficult, it was.

“It took a whole year to get this (sales agreement) deal done. I’m optimistic, but I’m cautious as well. Like I’ve said, I always want to do what’s in the best interests for the fans and it’s got to be right for our fans. To be continued, but it’s a process. It takes longer than I’d like to unfortunately.”

Andlauer indicated that one of the hurdles remaining for the two sides to agree on is a “fair market value” for the club’s land purchase.

“The understanding is there and there were terms in our agreement that talked about ‘fair market value’, which I’m totally for and that’s what I want – what’s fair,” Andlauer said. “Let’s just hope the NCC doesn’t change the rules at the last second.”

The deal announced on Sept. 20 came together at the 11th hour with neither side wanting to extend the discussions past a deadline for a memorandum of understanding to expire.

There was no price tag revealed by the NCC, but the organization did say it would be sold at “fair market value” after an assessment.

If the Senators and NCC can’t agree on the value of the land that would throw a massive wrench into these negotiations and neither side wants to lose this deal because there have been countless hours to put in already to try to make the dream of a downtown arena a reality.

Leeder stated after the agreement was made there was a lot of work to be done and had no idea when the club might put shovels in the ground.

“You’ve got geotechnical studies, transportation and mobility studies, how do you get 20,000 people in and out right away with the right method?” Leeder said. “We’ve got to get financing done, zoning done and a number of other studies, including environment and a cleanup plan.

“There’s a bunch of work that has to happen to make this work and that now starts in earnest.”

Though Andlauer discussed a number of topics during the interview, he also took time to squash any talk that the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville will be on the move.

There have been reports that Andlauer will sell the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs in the coming weeks to Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman and his family. Hamilton-based CHCH reported that the deal was all but official on Thursday night.

“I’m not a social media but I get the feedback. Our media guys get back (to him) and when I hear things that are not right sometimes I like to speak up because I owe it to my fans,” Andlauer said.

The second part of the talk making rounds was that Andlauer would then move the Belleville Senators to Hamilton. He made it clear that’s not going to happen and wore a ‘613’ area code hat during the segment to let fans know he’s committed to making this organization a success.

In 2015, Andlauer purchased the OHL’s Belleville Bulls and moved that franchise to Hamilton. That’s not going to happen with the AHL team and he wanted to make sure the people of Belleville understood that.

“That’s why I’m wearing the ‘613’ hat,” he said. “Six one three is Sens’ country. It’s strategic to be in Belleville and Belleville is here to stay.

“As far as I’m concerned they’re great fans, very similar to what Brantford has in the OHL. Maybe some of the rumour (about selling Brantford) is true, but the one part that’s not true is that Belleville is there to stay. I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time in Belleville.”

The expectation is the sale of Brantford will be announced after it’s approved by the OHL’s board of governors on Monday.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com