Q and A: Michael Andlauer Reflects on His First Anniversary as Ottawa Senators Owner and the Gift of a New Downtown Arena Deal

As the Ottawa Senators prepare for a new season, things are off to a promising start for owner Michael Andlauer. After a tumultuous first season, year two won't have a tough act to follow.

Andlauer just celebrated his first anniversary as owner of the Senators with the gift of a new downtown arena deal with the NCC. The Sens negotiated an extra chunk of land, 10 acres in all, and will purchase it instead of signing a long term lease.

On Saturday, with the Senators playing an intrasquad game in Gatineau, it marked what Andlauer hopes will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship with the Quebec side. He was on hand for the ceremonial faceoff.

Instead of dropping the pucks, Gatineau's mayor, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette and Michele Thibault from the Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Gatineau, both gently placed them on the ice. Andlauer probably hopes the uber gentle faceoff signals the start of a calmer second season.

Andlauer also had a chance to huddle with the local media, mostly to discuss the new arena deal, but also relfections on his first season. Here's that question and answer period.

Media: Were there a lot of hurdles throughout (the arena) process that you guys had to get through? 

Obviously, it took a whole year to do it. And when I looked at this, the potential was there. I've heard it everywhere. Even in here in Gatineau, the desire to have an arena downtown. And for me, when I looked at it, I looked at it from the lens of a fan. What the fans wanted and the original agreed upon deal really didn't work as far as I was concerned. Whether it be access to parking, size of the land in order to have activation. And also what was going to happen for the rest of the property?

Because it's been empty for 60 plus years. I didn't want to have just one arena there and still have the rest stay empty. But in the NCC's defense, they recognized that the desire was not something to be, it wasn't supposed to be a financial play of any sort. To me, as I said in my opening press conference, I'm here to take care of the Senators, to be part of this community, to make a positive difference. And I'm not in the development business, but I know what our fans want. And it was to create an understanding. And I think the NCC got it. And I'm excited to move forward with the NCC, the City of Ottawa, and ourselves.

Why is owning the land so important? 

Owning the land, because it gives you flexibility. I think (Senators president Cyril Leeder) said it Friday. There's so many complications on it. So, for example, if you want to build a hotel or restaurants or condos, if you want to be a condo owner, and knowing that there's a land lease and not knowing the future. There's all kinds of other complications.

I got a phone call from (Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe) yesterday. He was so excited about this announcement. And obviously he's implicated in this. The City and the NCC are going to have to work closely. I've told him, I said, the three of us have to sit down and collaborate and do what's in the best interest of the city of Ottawa. All I am is a catalyst to get these lands going. And I'm excited about the future.

And it's not only about the Senators, but from an Ottawa or Gatineau perspective, we're going to be playing 40-odd home games and hopefully a dozen playoff games every year. And that's only a third of what the events are going to have. So this is an event center for the city of Ottawa and Gatineau. And I'm excited about that.

What's the next big step? Is it financing or something else?

No, I mean, like any type of development, there are hurdles, like access from a transportation standpoint, architecture, everything. So basically, there's a whole bunch of steps that are implicated in making this happen. And finances as well. There's no doubt. But we've taken the first step and I'm excited about taking the next step.

And is this something that can proceed without the use of city taxpayers' dollars?

Yeah, I think Cyril talked about that. It shouldn't cost taxpayers money. I think there is a nice balance about economic output. I mean, you look at what we've done with the Sensplex venues, with the P3 initiative. It's worked out extremely well for all. And there are benefits for all.

So for me, I'm not looking at that. I'm not looking for a money graph. You know, we want to do this and it's got to be sustainable as well. I also don't want our fans to be paying $200 for a ticket, and $30 for a beer and $50 for parking. But in any event, that's to be looked at. So I don't want to... I want everybody to feel optimistic that we're going to do this together.

You and a number of members of the organization toured around different buildings throughout the league. Was there any that stood out?

Yeah, we've seen all the buildings. As late as two weeks ago, I was in Quebec City. I was actually in awe with that building... Videotron Centre was magnificent. And I wish I could just pick it up and bring it over here. But I'm also hopeful that the future would be bright for the city of Quebec.

To that end, yeah, we've looked at all the facilities. And I'm a big R&D guy. I like to rip off and duplicate where I see it's best. And we want this to be something that the capital of this country can be proud of when people come in and go see shows and come watch hockey.

Do you have any idea on timeline? Is it five, six, seven, eight years? Can you make a best guess?

Honestly, if I could drop the puck at LeBreton Flats tomorrow, I would. It's a process. I'm going to be diligent. I'm going to be very transparent. When you ask me what the status is, where our hurdles are, but I think the sooner, the better. I've seen some comments. 'I'm 40. I'm hoping that by the time I'm 50, we're able to see the Senators downtown.'

It takes time. I would love to say that in five years, we're dropping the puck. I think that's very certainly possible. I like to under-promise and over-deliver. So once the process gets started, we'll probably have a better idea as the year goes along.

How do you reflect on your first year as owner of the Senators?

It's been a whirlwind. It's been more work than I had anticipated. Somebody asked me the other day, "Are you having fun?" I said, "No, but I'm truly enjoying the process."

It'll be fun when we start winning. And I think Steve Staos and his team are doing an amazing job in creating the right environment to win. But it's been an incredible journey. I can't wait till year two. The Arena project was something I wanted to accomplish before the end of the year. I'm excited that we were able to do that.

And then just being part of the community. This is an incredible city with passionate fans. And it's not just lip service. I truly mean it. I'm excited about the future.