Why Does Michael Andlauer Own The Senators?

05/14/2025

Owning a professional sports team was once a purchase that was perceived as being for people with far too much money and far too much passion for the game.

This is a short article but one of the best you will read in explaining the lucrative nature of professional sports ownership. No fools here.

And interestingly enough, this article features the Ottawa Senators and its new owner Michael Andlauer:

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Last month, Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer sold the logistics business where he made his fortune for $2.2-billion, after more than tripling the company’s value in the past six years.

Pro sports is likely to be an even more lucrative investment for Mr. Andlauer, a self-made billionaire and beer-league hockey goalie.

Set aside what you’ve heard about frothy valuations on hockey, baseball, basketball and football teams. Owning a franchise such as the National Hockey League’s Senators is a proven approach to making serious money, according to a study run by the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and private equity firm Arctos Partners LP.

Bring Good Baseball To Ottawa, Your Worship

For all the talk of sports investing being driven by the greater fool theory – with one deep-pocketed fanboy justifying buying a team on expectations of eventually selling to an even wealthier frustrated jock – there are solid economics behind the lofty prices that teams command.

Over the past 20 years, owning a stake in a team from one of the four major North American leagues – the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL – provided an impressive 12.3-per-cent annual return, according to the Ross-Arctos Sports Franchise Index. That’s significantly better than the performance of any public market benchmark, such as equities, fixed income or commodities.

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To read the Globe and Mail story from which the except was taken from above, click here. The Globe has a paywall so you might not be able to access the rest of this article but sometimes first-time readers can get in.