Snoop Dogg appears quite serious with his bid — alongside businessman Neko Sparks — to become an owner of the Senators.
In an interview with The Athletic, Snoop Dogg reaffirmed that he will “put his foot in the town” should the bid from Sparks, Snoop Dogg and more than a dozen other investors emerge as the winner.
“This ain’t no joke or no gimmick,” Snoop Dogg told The Athletic. “Or an image or likeness play. This is a real ownership play.”
Snoop Dogg said fans would see him “at least six times a year” — with that loose number rising to at least 10 if the Senators made the playoffs — and that he wanted to be a “community activist” within the city, which aligns with the sentiment Snoop Dogg expressed Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take.”
“I’ve been watching hockey for about 25 years now, and I’m watching more and more kids that look like me play the game, but I’m not seeing it being offered to the kids over here in America,” Snoop Dogg said on “First Take,” alongside Stephen A. Smith. “And then the plan that we have is to also go and build a Snoop Youth hockey league outside of Canada, so kids in urban communities can learn about hockey, can play the sport, and find ways to get into this great thing that’s called hockey.
“Because right now the NBA and the NHL is having some great playoff games and the kids need to know that there is an option to play hockey if you look like me.”
The inclusion of Snoop Dogg in the bid for the Senators was the latest twist in the team’s sale since it became official in November, with the requirement that the team needed to remain in Ottawa.
Senators owner Eugene Melnyk died in March 2022, and the Associated Press previously reported that his past intentions were to leave the team to his two daughters.
But when the Senators Sports & Entertainment board of directors revealed the steps in place to start selling the team, it started a process that might end with the final offer being above $1 billion, according to ESPN.
Snoop Dogg told The Athletic that he wants “Ottawa because Ottawa wants me,” adding that the “thriving” city will witness its hockey team take a “U-turn once we get ownership.”
The Senators haven’t made the postseason since 2016-17, when they advanced to the Eastern Conference final before falling to Pittsburgh in seven games.
In 2022-23, Ottawa finished in sixth place in the Atlantic Division and were led in scoring by 21-year-old Tim Stützle and 23-year-old Brady Tkachuk.
“Any time I’m part of something, I become family,” Snoop Dogg told The Athletic. “I become connected to it.”