OTTAWA -- Dylan Whiteduck, chief of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (KZA) First Nation near Maniwaki, Que., has endorsed the Neko Sparks group in its bid to purchase the Ottawa Senators.
But he hopes for a similar type of agreement with any of the other bidders, should they acquire the NHL club.
Earlier this week, Whiteduck had confirmed the Sportsnet story of the Sparks group offering First Nations communities an equity stake in the NHL club, but denied comment on the arrangement.
On Wednesday afternoon, Whiteduck released a statement on the potential relationship with his Algonquin community and the bidders to buy the Senators. Rapper Snoop Dogg is part of the Sparks bid.
“While we must respect the non-disclosure rules inherent to the bidding process, we can confirm that we are in discussions with one of the bidders about making a meaningful investment in the Ottawa Senators, in consultation with all members of Kitigan Zibi,” Whiteduck said in a statement.
“While multiple bidders reached out to us, none have been more proactive than the lead investors behind the Neko Sparks group. We welcome the sincerity, thoughtfulness and seriousness with which they intensified their talks with us over the past 72 hours.”
A source involved in the Sparks group told Sportsnet that the bidders have met with multiple members of the First Nations community to make them a part of this ownership, if they get the team. A source said that the equity stake is significant, at least 10 per cent.
Final bids were submitted on Monday, and the Sparks group has tough competition with bids submitted by the Michael Andlauer group, the Kimel brothers and Steve Apostolopoulos.
Clearly, the KZA band is keeping its options open, should the Sparks group not win the team.
“We wish to endorse the Neko Sparks group approach to the bidding process and invite whichever ownership group is ultimately approved by the Melnyk family and the NHL to embrace this moment and set a new tone in the relationship between First Nations peoples, the investors who help revitalize important organizations such as the Senators, and lands such as LeBreton, as well as governments who have the ability to facilitate such initiatives,” Whiteduck added.
Whiteduck and the KZA have threatened legal action against the federal government over an Algonquin claim of the LeBreton Flats parcel of land that could house a new arena for the Senators. The National Capital Commission, a federal agency, gained control of the area in the 1960s as homes in the area began to be expropriated for future government development.
Decades later, the LeBreton Flats are finally being developed by the NCC in a big way, but there will have to be reconciliation with the Algonquin people who once lived here.
“We don’t want to stop this or put any barriers to this. We just want to be a part of this,” Whiteduck told The Athletic earlier this year, regarding the NCC development plans at LeBreton. “But we’re not being invited to any type of roundtable or a discussion.”
Now, Whiteduck is responding to a surge of invitations to a seat at the Senators roundtable.
“We welcome the sincerity, thoughtfulness and seriousness with which some bidders have approached us in recent days,” Whiteduck added in his statement. “Their approach – along with the effort of bidders to renew investment in the team and the community – represents a generational opportunity to secure meaningful economic, social and cultural reconciliation between our peoples.”
