Senators’ Andlauer admits mistake with fans in latest attempt to grow team’s brand
Michael Andlauer understands the mistake made with the Senators’ Quebec City announcement and the owner is now taking the steps to mend fences while still pushing to grow the team’s brand.
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Ottawa — In the past the Ottawa Senators made plenty of mistakes with their public relations, alienating fans at every turn and then blaming them for not showing up to games.
Times are changing under new Senators owner Michael Andlauer, but his first big blunder came on Monday. After sweeping another weekend back-to-back that put Ottawa back into a playoff position, everyone in Sens land was talking about…… a mascot? Yes, of all things.
On Monday, the Senators announced they were going to play two pre-season games in Quebec City, but what triggered the furore was that Spartacat wore half Sens and half Nordiques colours as part of the unveiling.
Leading Thomas Chabot to joke, “Sparty was there just doing his job.”
For a lot of fans, it was no joke.
Simultaneously, on Monday, Andlauer had said that the Senators could play regular season games in Quebec City, too. La Presse had reported ahead of the 2023-24 season that the Senators almost played five games that season in Quebec City, a city that has been publicly begging for an NHL team.
Throw in the fact that the Senators have been stalled in negotiations for a new arena in LeBreton Flats, and there is your perfect storm of bad publicity.
On Thursday, Andlauer gathered a group of media members to dig himself out of the hole that the organization had created—a gesture that would never have happened with the previous owner.
First, Andlauer said if he could go back, he would. He claimed he did not make the decision for Spartacat to wear the Nordique half-emblem.
“Well, obviously, the jersey first,” Andlauer said about what he’d do differently.
Meanwhile, Andlauer brushed the relocation rumours aside when asked about the possibility of moving the Senators to Quebec City.
“Absolutely not. I love the city (Ottawa), I’m committed to this city, and that’s not even (a question).”
Not many billionaires admit mistakes, but the Senators owner did.
“This is where I erred,” admitted Andlauer. “I don’t dwell in the past, and what I didn’t realize is, I guess there was talk about playing five games in (Quebec City).
“I didn’t know that.”
Andlauer explained his surprise and emotions when he found out that Senators fans were outraged.
“I’m listening. Whoa, I was taken aback, and I didn’t sleep that night because I care so much about this team,” he said.
Andlauer cited how he’s gotten better as a businessman over the years. There is no guidebook for owning an NHL franchise, and he admitted he is still trying to educate himself about his team’s fanbase.
“There’s a lot of scar tissue with (the fanbase) and I didn’t realize that until I saw the reaction,” said Andlauer. “But the silver lining part of all of this is I said hockey is deep rooted in this community and it made me realize how passionate our fans are, which makes me feel good.”
From Andlauer’s standpoint, he wants to grow the Sens brand in the francophone community, specifically in Gatineau and believed the game in Quebec City was an opportunity.
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Under the previous owner, French-speaking fans weren’t given a second thought. Andlauer has routinely talked about the Senators as being part of the Ottawa-Gatineau community, and rightfully so.
“We lost a whole generation in Gatineau of young kids who by default, because they’ve been neglected, became Habs fans,” Andlauer said. “Gatineau is still a priority. I mean, (it’s) so close. You’re half an hour to the rink if you drive the way I do. But it’s a hell of a lot closer than going to Montreal, and it’s right there. You touch it. People work in Ottawa and live in Gatineau. We’re not going to stop that. We’ll put a full-court press on that, on the corporate side as well.”
Andlauer explained why he said he was open to playing regular season games in Quebec City.
“My mind is going, and I’m like, we played two games in Sweden,” Andlauer said. “I’d rather be playing two games in Quebec City than playing two games in Sweden, both from a hockey ops standpoint and from our fans.”
“This was more to cater to Quebec fans to say, ‘Oh, my God, this is great. I’m going to become a Sens fan,’” Andlauer said. “And that way, people in Gatineau or a nearby area, they come to Ottawa and there’s a Montreal Canadiens game on. There may be a little bit more Sens jerseys than Habs jerseys because they’ve converted. So, that was my only motivation.”
“It was as simple as that,” he said. “But I get it now.”
This whole mascot odyssey has changed his perspective on Quebec City.
“Hell no,” said Andlauer if he’d still want Senators regular season games to be played there.
Andlauer explained to the media the three areas of the business of the Senators that he categorizes: ticketing, corporate sponsorships and media rights deals.
Quebec City can be a part of that, but it can’t be the solution. However, Andlauer believes as a small market you have to build the brand anywhere and everywhere including the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. Does it make sense? Sure.
“I see this as low-hanging fruit for us, for us to generate more revenue, for the Ottawa Senators to get more fans,” Andlauer said. “You look at small-market teams like in the NFL you look at the Green Bay Packers, right? They’re all over the place. I thought to myself, all these cities that can’t have an NHL team that we have coverage over on the media side of things, the Halifaxes, the St. John, Newfoundlands of the world. Those are opportunities where we can bring in more Sens fans.”
It’s great to grow, but the focus should be here and not waving pom poms to Quebec City. It seems Andlauer now realizes that.
He also mentioned the team plans to build a Sensplex practice facility in Gatineau.
Cultivating a French-speaking fanbase is good, however, rolling out a Nordiques logo while tarnishing the Senators sacred logo, that’s bad.
Some fans thought Andlauer was using Quebec City as a ploy to negotiate with the National Capital Commission. He denied that too.
“Ask (National Capital Commission CEO Tobi Nussbaum) what kind of negotiator I am,” said Andlauer. “I’m not about trying to steal something. I’m not that guy. People who know me, I’m upfront, sometimes too much. So, not at all. That’s not my style.”
Have owners, in time in memoriam, lied about not moving franchises? Yeah. But, rarely do they move to the city and come to many games throughout the season.
But Andlauer did hint negotiations are not going entirely smoothly.
“They’ve got their own issues that they’ve got to deal with. I’m committed to it. We have a great building here. We’ve made it work here in Kanata. The fallback, we’ll stay in Kanata. There’s also other areas in the city that we could probably do. But when I look at it, when I talk to fans, LeBreton is a perfect place.”
“There’s all kinds of compelling reasons why it would make sense, and I always do what’s in the best interest for our fans. But I’m not that guy that’s going to play games.”
Clearly, the Senators made a big error on Monday. But regardless they are becoming transparent and accountable. Trying to mend fences, not break them like before.
“So, I guess my message is take me for my word and please give me the benefit of the doubt,” Andlauer said. “I love this city, I love the fans and I learned a lot from this experience.”
The Senators have a brash, enthusiastic owner who is trying to grow the brand. Andlauer found out how fragile and wary the Senators fans are, and he’s taken steps to clarify and fix the issues. That’s what you want from your owner.
