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Post by Score on Dec 22, 2006 0:06:59 GMT -3
The Pittsburgh Penguins are off the market, and owner Mario Lemieux says the team will look at relocating while it attempts to reach a deal for a new arena.
"It is time to take control of our own destiny," the Hall of Famer said in a statement issued by his team Thursday.
The Penguins are free to move when the 2006-'07 season ends following a state panel's rejection Wednesday of a casino company's offer to build the team a new arena for free.
Lemieux said talks will begin shortly with state and local leaders about a new arena, but added a move outside Pennsylvania is another option.
"Accordingly, starting today, the team is off the market," Lemieux said, "and we will begin to explore relocation offers in cities outside Pennsylvania."
Among the cities known to be interested in the Penguins are Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas, Houston; Portland, Ore.; and Winnipeg.
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Post by Krang7 on Dec 22, 2006 16:06:16 GMT -3
Balsillie not finished with Pens[/u]
PITTSBURGH (CP) -- Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie has apologized to Mario Lemieux and says he still wants to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In a letter to team owner Lemieux, Balsillie said he is ready to begin negotiations right away and urged quick action to avoid a sale to another buyer who would automatically move the team to another city.
"Despite recent difficulties, I continue to be very interested in the team and in working towards an arena deal that is a benefit to the team and to the City of Pittsburgh," Balsillie said.
The head of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion invited Lemieux to go "arm and arm with me" to commissioner Gary Bettman to "make one last effort to get a deal done."
Balsillie, who abruptly pulled out of a US$175 million deal to buy the club last week, opened his letter with an apology to Lemieux, saying he regretted "that you have interpreted our inability to reach an agreement as an offence to you or the team.
"That was certainly never my intent and I apologize."
The letter was published Friday in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Balsillie could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lemieux said Monday the Penguins were "shocked and offended" that Balsillie withdrew his offer.
The withdrawal came prior to a Pennsylvania gaming board vote that was to determine whether a new arena was built for the 40-year-old franchise.
Lemieux added that he would keep Balsillie's deposit and said that "the deal with Mr. Balsillie is dead."
The Penguins had another setback on Wednesday, when the gaming board voted unanimously to award Pittsburgh's slots machine license to PITG Gaming, rather than Isle of Capri Casinos.
Isle of Capri was committed to building a US$290 million arena next to a casino if it got the slots license. The new building would replace the 45-year-old Mellon Arena, the NHL's oldest rink.
After the vote, Lemieux announced that the Penguins were off the market and he would consider relocating the team to another city, although he would continue to seek other ways to have an arena built in Pittsburgh.
Balsillie pulled out of negotiations when the NHL insisted he agree in writing not to move the club even if the Isle of Capri arena deal fell through.
In his latest letter, Balsillie said he was ready to start negotiating Plan B.
"On our side all the papers have been signed and everything is in place to close our transaction immediately but for the NHL Consent Agreement," said Balsillie. "However, we must move quickly."
Plan B scenarios to finance a new rink are under discussions at various levels of government and with the winner in the slots license competition, Don Bardon.
The Penguins' lease at Mellon Arena expires in June, after which the team is free to leave.
Other cities interested in landing an NHL club include Kansas City, Las Vegas, Houston, Portland, Ore., and Winnipeg.
Here is a the complete transcript of the letter:
Dear Mario:
I watched your recent news conference and I deeply regret that you have interpreted our inability to reach an agreement as an offence to you or the team. That was certainly never my intent and I apologize. Despite recent difficulties, I continue to be very interested in the team and in working towards an arena deal that is a benefit to the team and to the City of Pittsburgh.
You have fought with the local politicians for many years to get an economically viable arena deal which would insure the future of Penguins hockey in Pittsburgh. It is a city with a great hockey tradition and a solid fan base.
Incredibly, the government chose to ignore a brilliant plan and rejected $290 million in private money in favor of spending hundreds of millions of hard-earned taxpayers money.
I have a team ready to immediately start negotiating Plan B. On our side all of the papers have been signed and everything is in place to close our transaction immediately but for the NHL Consent Agreement. However, we must move quickly. Every day that is lost is a day which can be used to negotiate an economically viable Plan B. It would be a tragedy if delay narrowed the options and resulted in a sale to someone who would immediately seek to relocate the team.
Given all that has happened this week, I was hoping you would agree to go arm and arm with me to the Commissioner and make one last effort to get our deal done.
You are a hero to the people of Pittsburgh. They are looking to you to do everything possible to save their team. I will respect whatever decision you make in this regard.
Sincerely, Jim Balsillie
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Score
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Post by Score on Jan 3, 2007 15:29:03 GMT -3
Mario Lemieux will meet with Kansas City officials Wednesday as part of the process of evaluating future options for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Lemieux and other members of the team's front office are set to meet with representatives of the $276-million multipurpose Sprint Center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. All 72 luxury suites at the arena have already been sold.
The meeting comes ahead of a scheduled get together with state and local government officials in Pittsburgh, who are keen to discuss "Plan B" to try and keep the Penguins from leaving.
Kansas City was one of the first places which offered itself up as a new home for the Penguins once the Isle of Capri failed to get a slot machine license in Pennsylvania. That application included building a new arena for the Penguins.
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Post by scroogemcduck on Jan 4, 2007 14:45:43 GMT -3
Mario Lemieux will meet with Kansas City officials Wednesday as part of the process of evaluating future options for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux and other members of the team's front office are set to meet with representatives of the $276-million multipurpose Sprint Center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. All 72 luxury suites at the arena have already been sold. The meeting comes ahead of a scheduled get together with state and local government officials in Pittsburgh, who are keen to discuss "Plan B" to try and keep the Penguins from leaving. Kansas City was one of the first places which offered itself up as a new home for the Penguins once the Isle of Capri failed to get a slot machine license in Pennsylvania. That application included building a new arena for the Penguins. Ah yes.....Kansas City, another hotbed of hockey! Right up there with Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix, Anaheim, Long Island, and Memphis. Makes a lot of damn sense! People in those places care a lot more about hockey than folks in say.....um......Winnipeg, Hamilton, Saskatoon or Québec City. F**K the NHL, and F**K Gary Bettman!
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Score
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Go Rocket!
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Post by Score on Jan 4, 2007 14:48:25 GMT -3
Mario Lemieux will meet with Kansas City officials Wednesday as part of the process of evaluating future options for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux and other members of the team's front office are set to meet with representatives of the $276-million multipurpose Sprint Center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. All 72 luxury suites at the arena have already been sold. The meeting comes ahead of a scheduled get together with state and local government officials in Pittsburgh, who are keen to discuss "Plan B" to try and keep the Penguins from leaving. Kansas City was one of the first places which offered itself up as a new home for the Penguins once the Isle of Capri failed to get a slot machine license in Pennsylvania. That application included building a new arena for the Penguins. Ah yes.....Kansas City, another hotbed of hockey! Right up there with Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix, Anaheim, Long Island, and Memphis. Makes a lot of damn sense! People in those places care a lot more about hockey than folks in say.....um......Winnipeg, Hamilton, Saskatoon or Québec City. F**K the NHL, and F**K Gary Bettman! C'mon Scrooge, tell us how you REALLY feel....
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Post by Krang7 on Jan 4, 2007 15:12:46 GMT -3
Mario Lemieux will meet with Kansas City officials Wednesday as part of the process of evaluating future options for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux and other members of the team's front office are set to meet with representatives of the $276-million multipurpose Sprint Center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. All 72 luxury suites at the arena have already been sold. The meeting comes ahead of a scheduled get together with state and local government officials in Pittsburgh, who are keen to discuss "Plan B" to try and keep the Penguins from leaving. Kansas City was one of the first places which offered itself up as a new home for the Penguins once the Isle of Capri failed to get a slot machine license in Pennsylvania. That application included building a new arena for the Penguins. Ah yes.....Kansas City, another hotbed of hockey! Right up there with Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix, Anaheim, Long Island, and Memphis. Makes a lot of damn sense! People in those places care a lot more about hockey than folks in say.....um......Winnipeg, Hamilton, Saskatoon or Québec City. F**K the NHL, and F**K Gary Bettman! Memphis...?
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Post by scroogemcduck on Jan 4, 2007 15:28:56 GMT -3
Ah yes.....Kansas City, another hotbed of hockey! Right up there with Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix, Anaheim, Long Island, and Memphis. Makes a lot of damn sense! People in those places care a lot more about hockey than folks in say.....um......Winnipeg, Hamilton, Saskatoon or Québec City. F**K the NHL, and F**K Gary Bettman! Memphis...? Nashville. Makes no diff; they don't care about hockey in Memphis, and they don't care about hockey in Nashville. The NHL is a joke, and has been a joke for 15 years.
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Post by Krang7 on Jan 4, 2007 16:18:56 GMT -3
Nashville. Makes no diff; they don't care about hockey in Memphis, and they don't care about hockey in Nashville. The NHL is a joke, and has been a joke for 15 years. Why do you care where the teams are then?
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Score
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Go Rocket!
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Post by Score on Jan 4, 2007 17:29:37 GMT -3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Pittsburgh Penguins could play rent-free and be equal managing partners in the new Sprint Center if they move to Kansas City, under an offer unveiled Thursday by the arena's operating group. Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, said the Penguins would not have to buy into the management agreement. The US$276-million Sprint Center is scheduled to open in October. "We are not trying to steal the Penguins," Leiweke said. "We have been very respectful of their process. We understand that this is Pittsburgh's to lose, and we respect that." Anschutz officials, including former Pittsburgh star Luc Robitaille, met Wednesday and Thursday with Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, his partner, Ron Burkle, and other team representatives. "They have told us they will make a decision within 30 days," Leiweke said. "We will know within 30 days whether they are going to work out their issues in Pittsburgh and get an arena built, or whether they will ask the NHL for permission to move the team to Kansas City."
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Post by scroogemcduck on Jan 4, 2007 18:26:14 GMT -3
Nashville. Makes no diff; they don't care about hockey in Memphis, and they don't care about hockey in Nashville. The NHL is a joke, and has been a joke for 15 years. Why do you care where the teams are then? Why? Because pulling stupid stunts like this, taking teams out of the Canadian heartland where the fans are, and placing them in dumps where people don't give a damn about hockey, has ruined the NHL for a lot of Canadian fans. Matters A LOT to me where the teams are - instead of Nashville, Phoenix, Anaheim and Atlanta, it should be Québec City, Hamilton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. THAT'S why! The NHL is the only professional league (I use the word 'professional' loosely) that willingly puts teams in places where there's no fan base. Ridiculous!
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Post by Krang7 on Jan 4, 2007 20:15:52 GMT -3
Why do you care where the teams are then? Why? Because pulling stupid stunts like this, taking teams out of the Canadian heartland where the fans are, and placing them in dumps where people don't give a damn about hockey, has ruined the NHL for a lot of Canadian fans. Matters A LOT to me where the teams are - instead of Nashville, Phoenix, Anaheim and Atlanta, it should be Québec City, Hamilton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. THAT'S why! The NHL is the only professional league (I use the word 'professional' loosely) that willingly puts teams in places where there's no fan base. Ridiculous! They pulled out the teams from Canada because they couldn't afford to be there anymore. Quebec moved to Denver where they've been a huge hit and they moved Winnipeg to Phoenix where they couldn't pay people to come watch them. Success has been a major factor in that (Colorado's success and Phoenix's lack thereof), but the point is is that at the time that they moved, those cities couldn't afford them now. There will be more Canadian teams in the NHL soon enough, but it will be through expansion. They don't want to move the Penguins to Canada because of the marketability of Crosby, Malkin, etc. They don't need to market the game up here, but they do need to down there. And it's not fair to say that the NHL is the only league to move teams to cities with no fan base because every other major sport is hugely popular in the USA. They could put a football team in any city in the states and there would be a fan base. Same goes for baseball and basketball. Hockey doesn't have that security, so they don't always get it right. But they do sometimes to, look at Dallas, Colorado, Carolina. And I would be very surprised that if the Penguins moved to Kansas City they wouldn't be a huge hit there either. Big city with no basketball teams to take away fans. Plus the best player in the world would be playing there. Look what Gretzky did for LA.
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Post by Krang7 on Jan 9, 2007 12:42:04 GMT -3
More cities express interest in Penguins
With Kansas City already in the running to land the Pittsburgh Penguins, three more cities have thrown their hats in the ring.
Reports indicate Oklahoma City Blazers owner Bob Funk plans on inviting the Penguins ownership group to the Ford Center next week while sources say Houston and Portland are also interested in landing the NHL team.
''We've always had an interest in the NHL or anything that contributes to Oklahoma City or the Oklahoma environment,'' Funk told The Oklahoman newspaper. ''I think the NHL has a good future.''
Currently, Oklahoma City plays host to the NBA's New Orleans Hornets, who were displaced following the Hurricane Katrina disaster. But the Hornets may be returning to New Orleans next season, leaving the Ford Center without a major league tenant. The Blazers play in the Central Hockey League.
"Tthe first team in certainly would have the advantage,” Funk told The Oklahoman. "That ended up being the NBA. If the NBA is not going to be here, then I would think there would be corporate support for hockey.”
But an Oklahoma City group purchased the Seattle SuperSonics last season and gave that city one year to commit to building a new arena. If a deal cannot be worked out, the Sonics could be headed for Oklahoma City. That decision is expected as early as May.
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Post by scroogemcduck on Jan 9, 2007 13:34:34 GMT -3
Why? Because pulling stupid stunts like this, taking teams out of the Canadian heartland where the fans are, and placing them in dumps where people don't give a damn about hockey, has ruined the NHL for a lot of Canadian fans. Matters A LOT to me where the teams are - instead of Nashville, Phoenix, Anaheim and Atlanta, it should be Québec City, Hamilton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. THAT'S why! The NHL is the only professional league (I use the word 'professional' loosely) that willingly puts teams in places where there's no fan base. Ridiculous! They pulled out the teams from Canada because they couldn't afford to be there anymore. Quebec moved to Denver where they've been a huge hit and they moved Winnipeg to Phoenix where they couldn't pay people to come watch them. Success has been a major factor in that (Colorado's success and Phoenix's lack thereof), but the point is is that at the time that they moved, those cities couldn't afford them now. There will be more Canadian teams in the NHL soon enough, but it will be through expansion. They don't want to move the Penguins to Canada because of the marketability of Crosby, Malkin, etc. They don't need to market the game up here, but they do need to down there. And it's not fair to say that the NHL is the only league to move teams to cities with no fan base because every other major sport is hugely popular in the USA. They could put a football team in any city in the states and there would be a fan base. Same goes for baseball and basketball. Hockey doesn't have that security, so they don't always get it right. But they do sometimes to, look at Dallas, Colorado, Carolina. And I would be very surprised that if the Penguins moved to Kansas City they wouldn't be a huge hit there either. Big city with no basketball teams to take away fans. Plus the best player in the world would be playing there. Look what Gretzky did for LA. First of all, they did not "have to pay people" to go to Winnipeg Jets' games - they always had big crowds, as did the Nordiques in Québec; those teams were moved because New Yorker Gary Bettman WANTED them moved, and the little f***er always gets what he wants. You've confirmed my point - the NHL IS the only league that deliberately puts teams in places where no one gives a damn...the fact that people support baseball and football everywhere in the U.S. doesn't invalidate my point. Major League Baseball wouldn't even think of putting a team in Vancouver, Calgary, or Edmonton, because it knows that it wouldn't work there....so it doesn't. Sure, the NHL has had success in moving teams to Dallas and Colorado, but I'm not so sure about Carolina - crowds there have been very low most years, and the Stanley Cup honeymoon shouldn't last too long....then you have hockey wastelands like Phoenix, Nashville, Miami, Tampa, Long Island and Anaheim....nuff said. By setting up shop in dumps like those, the NHL ensures that hockey will remain marginal in the consciousness of most North American sports fans. Hockey is considered third-rate in the States because the NHL MAKES it third-rate! The NHL is a league that encourages fighting, refuses to adequately discipline egregious offenders like that psychopath Bertuzzi, gives teams a point for losing in OT, gouges its fans with outrageous ticket prices, has strikes/lockouts every few years, and has endless playoffs that stretch into summer. In other words, the NHL is a league that has no clue what it's doing. Yeah, sure, we might get another team again in Canada someday...but as you say, it can't be a "good" team with marquee players like Crosby, because hey, if they're marquee players, they belong in the U.S., right? Right! So we'll get a lousy team, but it'll be good enough for Canadians, who will baa baa baa their way to the ticket windows. The NHL is a joke, and treats Canadians and Canada like shit - and we Canadians have an inferiority complex, so we continue to support it!
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Post by Krang7 on Jan 9, 2007 14:24:53 GMT -3
They pulled out the teams from Canada because they couldn't afford to be there anymore. Quebec moved to Denver where they've been a huge hit and they moved Winnipeg to Phoenix where they couldn't pay people to come watch them. Success has been a major factor in that (Colorado's success and Phoenix's lack thereof), but the point is is that at the time that they moved, those cities couldn't afford them now. There will be more Canadian teams in the NHL soon enough, but it will be through expansion. They don't want to move the Penguins to Canada because of the marketability of Crosby, Malkin, etc. They don't need to market the game up here, but they do need to down there. And it's not fair to say that the NHL is the only league to move teams to cities with no fan base because every other major sport is hugely popular in the USA. They could put a football team in any city in the states and there would be a fan base. Same goes for baseball and basketball. Hockey doesn't have that security, so they don't always get it right. But they do sometimes to, look at Dallas, Colorado, Carolina. And I would be very surprised that if the Penguins moved to Kansas City they wouldn't be a huge hit there either. Big city with no basketball teams to take away fans. Plus the best player in the world would be playing there. Look what Gretzky did for LA. First of all, they did not "have to pay people" to go to Winnipeg Jets' games - they always had big crowds, as did the Nordiques in Québec; those teams were moved because New Yorker Gary Bettman WANTED them moved, and the little f***er always gets what he wants. You've confirmed my point - the NHL IS the only league that deliberately puts teams in places where no one gives a damn...the fact that people support baseball and football everywhere in the U.S. doesn't invalidate my point. Major League Baseball wouldn't even think of putting a team in Vancouver, Calgary, or Edmonton, because it knows that it wouldn't work there....so it doesn't. Sure, the NHL has had success in moving teams to Dallas and Colorado, but I'm not so sure about Carolina - crowds there have been very low most years, and the Stanley Cup honeymoon shouldn't last too long....then you have hockey wastelands like Phoenix, Nashville, Miami, Tampa, Long Island and Anaheim....nuff said. By setting up shop in dumps like those, the NHL ensures that hockey will remain marginal in the consciousness of most North American sports fans. Hockey is considered third-rate in the States because the NHL MAKES it third-rate! The NHL is a league that encourages fighting, refuses to adequately discipline egregious offenders like that psychopath Bertuzzi, gives teams a point for losing in OT, gouges its fans with outrageous ticket prices, has strikes/lockouts every few years, and has endless playoffs that stretch into summer. In other words, the NHL is a league that has no clue what it's doing. Yeah, sure, we might get another team again in Canada someday...but as you say, it can't be a "good" team with marquee players like Crosby, because hey, if they're marquee players, they belong in the U.S., right? Right! So we'll get a lousy team, but it'll be good enough for Canadians, who will baa baa baa their way to the ticket windows. The NHL is a joke, and treats Canadians and Canada like shit - and we Canadians have an inferiority complex, so we continue to support it! First of all, I was talking about Phoenix when I said that they couldn't pay fans to go watch they're games. I know that Winnipeg and Quebec had huge crowds every night, but with rising salaries, weak Canadian dollar, high Canadian taxes, lack of corporate sponsorship, etc. there was no way those teams could afford to stay. There's no doubt that Bettman never tried as hard as he could to get them to stay, but they were going to have to go anyway. With the salary cap and a stronger Canadian dollar nowadays, there is more of a chance of keeping a small market team in Canada. Just look at Ottawa and Edmonton, 5 years ago both teams were thisclose to filing for bankruptcy, but both have been able to turn things around because of this. It's possible that Winnipeg and Quebec could have done the same in today's era, but when they left times were different. Every sports league has had teams move around and change cities. To imply that major league baseball has never had teams that have had to be moved for lack of fanbase is preposterous. They've tried places that haven't worked out just like anyone else. To make the argument that setting up teams in different cities that haven't exactly worked out for the NHL is the reason that the sport is still considered marginal in the USA makes little or no sense to me. The NHL is trying to encourage growth of the sport in different parts of the USA, and if it doesn't work then that makes the sport less important to American sports fans? Where is the logic in that? Hockey is considered third-rate in most parts of the USA because Americans are brought up on football and baseball, not because the NHL puts teams in Nashville. Hockey obviously continues to grow in the US. There were more American-born players drafted this season than ever before. The USA U-18 and U-20 teams are competitive every tournament now. That just shows that more kids are being brought up on hockey down there, and that means there is a chance that hockey will become more and more relevant. It will never come close to the powers that are the NFL or MLB, but there is a place for the NHL in the USA. And of course a new Canadian team would be bad at first, that's just the nature of an expansion team. Ottawa was horrendous for it's first 6 or 7 seasons, but now they are one of the top-10 teams in the leagues. To imply that it will always be a bad team that Canadians will pay for despite that fact is just stupid. It will be a bad team but Canadians will pay for them because they're smart enough to know that it will get better. The NHL is definetly not the best run league in the world, but to call it a joke is a little much. To say Canadians support it because of an inferiority complex is dumb. Canadians support it because they love hockey and this is the best hockey in the world with the best players in the world.
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Post by SwallowMyBitterPill on Jan 9, 2007 14:36:03 GMT -3
amen brother krang
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