Inside the wild, star-studded sale of the Ottawa Senators

In today’s Big Story podcast, nobody who covers the business of sports can remember a bidding process quite like the one currently taking place around the Ottawa Senators. Normally, negotiations take place behind-the-scenes, and the results only go public when a winner is chosen, or a final bid or two is being examined. However, this time, the whole saga has largely played out in public ever since Ryan Reynolds threw his hat into the ring, and he wasn’t the only big name to do so.

Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet Insider, Hockey Night in Canada panelist, and co-host of the 32 Thoughts podcast, says that the rising value of sports franchises in recent decades has led to a heightened interest in team ownership.

“The teams are growing in value, but so is the real estate around them…It’s a good investment and that’s why people are interested,” says Friedman.

So, who’s trying to buy the Sens? How does the bidding process work? And how will the winner be determined?

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