Another famous bidder appears to be tossing his hat into the ring in hopes of purchasing the Ottawa Senators.
Snoop Dogg has joined forces with Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks and the entrepreneur’s bid in acquiring the NHL franchise, The Athletic reported Monday, rivaling a push from actor Ryan Reynolds to purchase the NHL club.
“He’s passionately involved. He’s coming up with ideas. And he’s legitimately excited,” an industry insider told the outlet. “He wants this team.”
Snoop Dogg is one of the more than a dozen investors in the group spearheaded by Sparks, according to The Athletic, which noted “the majority of the ownership group [is] comprised of people of color.”
It’s been speculated the final sale price of the Senators could be around $1 billion, per reports.
Insiders told The Athletic how Snoop Dogg is interested in expanding the reach of the sport.
“He’s passionate about trying to make this game affordable for visible minorities and kids in low-income areas who haven’t been able to play hockey in the past,” a source said. “He wants to be community oriented.”
Further, Snoop Dogg has already formulated ideas as to how to get involved in the upcoming season — should the Sparks bid be accepted.
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Beyond attending some home games in Ottawa, The Athletic reported how the hip-hop legend could potentially slide into the TSN booth to offer commentary for area broadcasts.
Snoop Dogg addressed the recent developments Monday in an Instagram post, writing, “Amazing what @neko_sparks is trying to do in Ottawa & I’m looking forward to being apart of that ownership team. I WANNA BRING HOCKEY TO OUR COMMUNITY.”
He also spoke about the Senators opportunity Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take.”
“I’ve been watching hockey for about 25 years now, and I’m watching more and more kids that look like me play the game, but I’m not seeing it being offered to the kids over here in America,” Snoop Dogg said.
“This opportunity came … for me to be a part of the ownership of the Ottawa Senators, so I jumped on it. And then the plan that we have is to also go and build a Snoop Youth hockey league outside of Canada, so kids in urban communities can learn about hockey, can play the sport, and find ways to get into this great thing that’s called hockey, cause right now the NBA and the NHL is having some great playoff games and the kids need to know that there is an option to play hockey if you look like me.”
Reynolds — who is the co-owner of the recently promoted Wrexham A.F.C. football club in Wales — has been linked to a separate contingent pursuing the Senators.
He attended a Senators game in Ottawa on March 30.
