From Blackberrys to Penguins....
The Pittsburgh Penguins seem to have found their buyer, and it is Blackberry founder Jim Balsillie. Balsillie, who has not commented as of yet surfaced as the buyer earlier today. The sale is rumored to be in the area of $175 million and could be officially announced at a press conference tomorrow.
This is scary news for a lot of Penguins fans, and is playing into a lot of what I have mentioned in the past. Balsillie is on record as wanting to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario and if the stand alone slots license in Pittsburgh is not awarded to the Isle of Capri, there is no real reason for him to keep the team here.
Balsillie would be obligated to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh if IOC gets the license, if they don't??? Well, he would have to consider plan B. Which is exactly the kind of deal that local government in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said wasn't available in the past. They told the Penguins that public financing wasn't available and that they should find a private interest who would build the area. Well, they did that and while they were at it, they turned up the heat. They were also willing to redevelop a part of the city that is in great need, the lower Hill District.
Once local government saw that the Pens were serious about their plan and were willing to leave town without a new building, they acted swiftly on plan B. Knowing full well that the Penguins were in line to get a check for $290 million, they offered a deal that would cost the Penguins upward of $8.5 million up front and $2.5 million per season for 30 years. If I were the Penguins I might scoff at this, and of course they have been slow to commit.
Local government has sort of painted the Penguins as the bad guy in this situation, and have been doing so for almost a year. They have talked openly in the media about the Penguins forbidding possible buyers from negotiating a long term lease with the city for a new building, even though that could possibly cause a problem with a business partner. They have also stated that they are doing everything possible to keep the team here. That may be true today, but it wasn't so over the course of the past 7 years that Mario Lemieux has owned this team. Lemieux had a handshake agreement that stated if he bought the team out of bankruptcy, there would be a new publicly funded arena at some point, and it hasn't happened. There has been a lot of run around and false promises.
Mellon Arena is the oldest building in the league, and though it has its personality, it is time for a change. I agree that local government may be trying their best today, but my biggest fear is that the politicians have realized the importance of a new building a bit late. At this point, it looks as though Pittsburgh is going to get a new multipurpose arena, but will they have a team?
The only hope in Pittsburgh is that the league blocks any move, since Commissioner Gary Bettman believes in the market and plan B could be considered a viable option. There is also the whole Hamilton situation to consider. The fact that the team could possibly be moving into a situation where they may have a building issue could halt any move.
The building in Hamilton, at least from what I have heard, is in the same generation as Mellon Arena. It does not have enough luxury suites to meet the needs of an NHL team. Plus, is the fan support there? I know it was only a preseason game, but Hamilton's own media pointed out the lack of interest in the Penguins appearance there last week. There were not enough bodies in the seats, and it was a game featuring a "local" team (Buffalo), and Sidney Crosby. You would have thought that they would have come out in mass for a chance to see their future team, it didn't happen.
The optimist in me thinks that this will all be water under the bridge and the Penguins will continue in Pittsburgh. Balsillie has said he is willing to consider the options and keep the team here, but I am not feeling very comfortable. The Penguins have one of the brightest futures in the league....please let it be in Pittsburgh.
Link to story from Hamilton Spectator after Pens Preseason game with poor attendance: Hamilton Spectator
This is scary news for a lot of Penguins fans, and is playing into a lot of what I have mentioned in the past. Balsillie is on record as wanting to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario and if the stand alone slots license in Pittsburgh is not awarded to the Isle of Capri, there is no real reason for him to keep the team here.
Balsillie would be obligated to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh if IOC gets the license, if they don't??? Well, he would have to consider plan B. Which is exactly the kind of deal that local government in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said wasn't available in the past. They told the Penguins that public financing wasn't available and that they should find a private interest who would build the area. Well, they did that and while they were at it, they turned up the heat. They were also willing to redevelop a part of the city that is in great need, the lower Hill District.
Once local government saw that the Pens were serious about their plan and were willing to leave town without a new building, they acted swiftly on plan B. Knowing full well that the Penguins were in line to get a check for $290 million, they offered a deal that would cost the Penguins upward of $8.5 million up front and $2.5 million per season for 30 years. If I were the Penguins I might scoff at this, and of course they have been slow to commit.
Local government has sort of painted the Penguins as the bad guy in this situation, and have been doing so for almost a year. They have talked openly in the media about the Penguins forbidding possible buyers from negotiating a long term lease with the city for a new building, even though that could possibly cause a problem with a business partner. They have also stated that they are doing everything possible to keep the team here. That may be true today, but it wasn't so over the course of the past 7 years that Mario Lemieux has owned this team. Lemieux had a handshake agreement that stated if he bought the team out of bankruptcy, there would be a new publicly funded arena at some point, and it hasn't happened. There has been a lot of run around and false promises.
Mellon Arena is the oldest building in the league, and though it has its personality, it is time for a change. I agree that local government may be trying their best today, but my biggest fear is that the politicians have realized the importance of a new building a bit late. At this point, it looks as though Pittsburgh is going to get a new multipurpose arena, but will they have a team?
The only hope in Pittsburgh is that the league blocks any move, since Commissioner Gary Bettman believes in the market and plan B could be considered a viable option. There is also the whole Hamilton situation to consider. The fact that the team could possibly be moving into a situation where they may have a building issue could halt any move.
The building in Hamilton, at least from what I have heard, is in the same generation as Mellon Arena. It does not have enough luxury suites to meet the needs of an NHL team. Plus, is the fan support there? I know it was only a preseason game, but Hamilton's own media pointed out the lack of interest in the Penguins appearance there last week. There were not enough bodies in the seats, and it was a game featuring a "local" team (Buffalo), and Sidney Crosby. You would have thought that they would have come out in mass for a chance to see their future team, it didn't happen.
The optimist in me thinks that this will all be water under the bridge and the Penguins will continue in Pittsburgh. Balsillie has said he is willing to consider the options and keep the team here, but I am not feeling very comfortable. The Penguins have one of the brightest futures in the league....please let it be in Pittsburgh.
Link to story from Hamilton Spectator after Pens Preseason game with poor attendance: Hamilton Spectator
posted by Bmetzer66 at 11:35 PM
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