UPDATED: Breaking News: Balsillie Drops Out....
Ken Sawyer addressed the media after the first period. He didn't have much more info than what was already known, but he did confirm that Balsillie has rescinded his offer to purchase the team.
"There were no issues with the team," Sawyer said. "It was strictly an issue of not being able to come to an agreement with the league."
Sawyer went on to mention that the Penguins knew that Balsillie was having issues with the league, but never thought that it would cause the deal to fall apart.
The agreement between the Lemieux Group and Balsillie was fine, and everything had been agreed too. The sticking point is definitely with the league. There is much speculation that the reasoning for the disagreement stemmed from the specifics of Plan B, the alternative arena plan if the Isle of Capri does not win the stand alone slots license on Wednesday.
Sawyer would not comment on the fact that not having flexibility to move the team caused the deal to crumble, only saying, "You will have to ask Mr. Balsillie that question."
Balsillie had not been in communication with Sawyer or Mario Lemieux since Wednesday, when the team was in Harrisburg to testify in front of the Gaming Board.
When asked how Lemieux was taking the news, Sawyer said: "Mario is taking it in stride, but is disappointed."
Sawyer would not comment on any next steps that the team will take, only saying that they are hoping for an Isle of Capri win on Wednesday. If that were to fall through, they will have to evaluate everything and come up with a plan.
Sawyer would not speculate as to what the next move would be in finding a new bidder for the franchise.
It is strange that Balsillie pulled out now, with the slots decision days away. There is definitely something weird about the entire situation. It seems that we may never know how this situation played out, but Jim Balsillie will not be the next owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
All we can do at this point is hope for a decision in favor of the IOC. That will take a lot of the issues away, and the team can focus on just finding a buyer. The rest will have worked itself out and the Penguins will be here to stay. The alternative...time will tell.
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Jim Balsillie pulls bid to purchase the Penguins...it is reportedly over a stalemate regarding terms of a consent agreement. Could this be because the league was trying to put stipulations in place that said he could not move the team...who knows. This is very shocking...especially with the slots decision coming Wednesday.
Here is the Post Gazette story on the matter. More after the game tonight...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06349/746509-100.stm
"There were no issues with the team," Sawyer said. "It was strictly an issue of not being able to come to an agreement with the league."
Sawyer went on to mention that the Penguins knew that Balsillie was having issues with the league, but never thought that it would cause the deal to fall apart.
The agreement between the Lemieux Group and Balsillie was fine, and everything had been agreed too. The sticking point is definitely with the league. There is much speculation that the reasoning for the disagreement stemmed from the specifics of Plan B, the alternative arena plan if the Isle of Capri does not win the stand alone slots license on Wednesday.
Sawyer would not comment on the fact that not having flexibility to move the team caused the deal to crumble, only saying, "You will have to ask Mr. Balsillie that question."
Balsillie had not been in communication with Sawyer or Mario Lemieux since Wednesday, when the team was in Harrisburg to testify in front of the Gaming Board.
When asked how Lemieux was taking the news, Sawyer said: "Mario is taking it in stride, but is disappointed."
Sawyer would not comment on any next steps that the team will take, only saying that they are hoping for an Isle of Capri win on Wednesday. If that were to fall through, they will have to evaluate everything and come up with a plan.
Sawyer would not speculate as to what the next move would be in finding a new bidder for the franchise.
It is strange that Balsillie pulled out now, with the slots decision days away. There is definitely something weird about the entire situation. It seems that we may never know how this situation played out, but Jim Balsillie will not be the next owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
All we can do at this point is hope for a decision in favor of the IOC. That will take a lot of the issues away, and the team can focus on just finding a buyer. The rest will have worked itself out and the Penguins will be here to stay. The alternative...time will tell.
****
Jim Balsillie pulls bid to purchase the Penguins...it is reportedly over a stalemate regarding terms of a consent agreement. Could this be because the league was trying to put stipulations in place that said he could not move the team...who knows. This is very shocking...especially with the slots decision coming Wednesday.
Here is the Post Gazette story on the matter. More after the game tonight...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06349/746509-100.stm
posted by Bmetzer66 at 1:58 PM
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