Ryan Reynolds confirms interest in buying Ottawa Senators

Ryan Reynolds has confirmed his interest in becoming an owner of the Ottawa Senators.

The Deadpool star told The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Monday that he's interested in becoming part of a consortium of owners that would buy the team.

"I am trying to do that," Reynolds said when Fallon asked him if he's hoping to become an owner of the franchise.

"I love Ottawa," he said. "I spent a long time in Vanier there, which is a little town inside Ottawa."

A day after his Tonight Show appearance, Reynolds flew to Ottawa and watched the Senators take on his hometown Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. The actor got a warm ovation from the crowd and sat in a box with Senators officials, including vice-president of business operations Chris Phillips.

The Senators confirmed last week that the team is for sale, and that a condition of any deal for the franchise would be that it remains in Ottawa.

People magazine reported last week that Reynolds was interested in buying the team.

"It's very expensive. I need to partner with really deep pockets," Reynolds told Fallon.

"It's called a consortium ... when you form a group together to buy an entity," he added. "It's a fancy way of saying I need a sugar mommy or a sugar daddy."

Sportico has valued the Senators at $655 million U.S., a 21 per cent jump from last year.

Reynolds, a Vancouver native, has strong connections to Ottawa. He and his wife Blake Lively made generous donations to the Ottawa Food Bank and the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region during the pandemic.

He also has experience in sports franchise ownership. He bought Wrexham A.F.C., the world's third-oldest professional football club, with Rob McElhenney, the creator, producer and co-star of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.