Pens Partner with Isle of Capri - Make Redevolpment Deal with Nationwide Realty Investors

The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they have partnered with Isle of Capri, an international gambling company that manages 15 river boat and land based casinos. The Isle of Capri people would manage the casino if the Slots license is awarded to the Penguins group. They would in turn designate $285 million to build a new 18,000 seat arena for the region. The proposal would require no public funding.

If this were to happen, the Penguins would then redevelop the 50 acre area in which Mellon Arena currently sits with retail, office, and residential development. The total redevelopment could come in at over $1 billion dollars.

Once an arena was completed, ownership of the venue would be turned over to the City-Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority. The Sports and Exhibition authority also voted unanimously this morning to amend the Penguins lease. They now have the option to renew for one year, instead of the 5 years that were part of the pact previously. This should open the door for the Penguins to stay one extra year while the proposed new arena is built.

This is great news for the Penguins. This would be a great deal for the city and county and hopefully it will encourage the Gaming Board to award the Penguins group the Stand Alone Slots License. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees at this point. At least the "powers that be" in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh have taken notice and have seemingly jumped to attention since Mario Lemieux stated that there was only a "slim chance" of the team staying in Pittsburgh just over a week ago.