Snoop Dogg involved in Senators ownership bid
Another big name has entered the race to buy the Ottawa Senators.
Snoop Dogg is part of a prospective ownership group led by Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Neko Sparks, the rapper confirmed on social media Monday.
"Amazing what @neko_sparks is trying to do in Ottawa & I'm looking forward to being apart of that ownership team," Snoop Dogg posted on Instagram. "I WANNA BRING HOCKEY TO OUR COMMUNITY."
Sparks and his group would be the first Black-led ownership group in the NHL if they are successful in their bid for the Senators.
The news of Snoop's involvement, first reported by The Athletic, adds another wrinkle to the Senators ownership process, which is heating up. He joins another A-list celebrity, Ryan Reynolds, as a prospective owner of the Senators. Multiple reports say May 15 is the deadline for final bids.
“He’s passionately involved. He’s coming up with ideas. And he’s legitimately excited,” a source told The Athletic about Snoop’s involvement. “He wants this team.”
Snoop has a number of business ventures on top of his rap career, including a liquor brand, restaurants, music production studios and a venture capital firm specializing in cannabis startups.
He is also a longtime hockey fan. Snoop has provided commentary for Los Angeles Kings broadcast in the past. And he has worn Senators jerseys during performances in Ottawa, including at Bluesfest.
Reynolds has partnered with Toronto-based real estate firm the Remington Group to make a bid. Postmedia has reported that the group is preparing a bid of more than $1 billion to buy the Senators and the Canadian Tire Centre.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in late March that there were about a half-dozen groups seeking to buy the team.
The Senators have been on the market since the family of late owner Eugene Melnyk put the team up for sale in November.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Winnipeg trial hears admitted serial killer searched web for serial killer definition
The trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women has heard he searched the internet to look up the definition of what it means to be a serial killer.