Fate of the Penguins May Be Decided Today

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by bababui

mgom27 is spelled classic

""

[Spielman]

As sad as I would be to see them go, the franchise has been on the verge of collapse for so long, this was pretty much inevitable.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by mgom27

Portalnd is spelled Portland and no way it's getting a team with White Hawks already playing their.

Originally Posted by metsgeek

....and in that context, their is spelled there.

And it's Winter Hawks, not White Hawks.


It wouldn't be the first city to have both an NHL Franchise and a Major Junior Franchise.

[BaseballMan]

"Fate of the Penguins May Be Decided Today"

damn global warming is that bad.

[boilermaker]

Originally Posted by Tribe Fan 24

Unfortunately, the problem lies in the fact that the NHL is not on a real network anymore.

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but I have lately noticed that I watch the ESPN networks about, oh, not at all over the past two or three years. They haven't been a "real network" for me lately.

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by boilermaker

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but I have lately noticed that I watch the ESPN networks about, oh, not at all over the past two or three years. They haven't been a "real network" for me lately.

The problem with the NHL being on Versus is that it doesn't reach near the amount of homes that ESPN does. The issue is that the games being on ESPN will reach more NHL fans that would watch the games, it's not that having the games on ESPN is going to make people who wouldn't watch the game watch it...

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by BruceM

It wouldn't be the first city to have both an NHL Franchise and a Major Junior Franchise.

Does Philly still have the Phantoms? And didn't Detroit have a team (forgotten the name) that Gordie Howe was considering lacing up with for one game in 2000?

I have no idea what kind of hockey town Portland is but having 'big' and 'little' hockey in the same town doesn't sound so strange.

Maybe we can get our Whalercanes back!

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

"Fate of the Penguins May Be Decided Today"

damn global warming is that bad.

lol

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Does Philly still have the Phantoms? And didn't Detroit have a team (forgotten the name) that Gordie Howe was considering lacing up with for one game in 2000?

I have no idea what kind of hockey town Portland is but having 'big' and 'little' hockey in the same town doesn't sound so strange.

Maybe we can get our Whalercanes back!

lol

Philly & Toronto have AHL (Minors) teams. Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver have CHL (Juniors) teams.

The Detroit Vipers were in the IHL, in 2001 the IHL shut down and some teams went to the AHL, the other minor league. Detroit wasn't one of those teams.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by Joe Canadian

Philly & Toronto have AHL (Minors) teams. Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver have CHL (Juniors) teams.

The Detroit Vipers were in the IHL, in 2001 the IHL shut down and some teams went to the AHL, the other minor league. Detroit wasn't one of those teams.

Vipers, that's it!

Did Howe ever go through with that stunt to play in another decade?

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Vipers, that's it!

Did Howe ever go through with that stunt to play in another decade?

Yup.

[Tribe Fan 24]

Originally Posted by boilermaker

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but I have lately noticed that I watch the ESPN networks about, oh, not at all over the past two or three years. They haven't been a "real network" for me lately.

Agreed, I am not as big a fan of ESPN as I once was. It is, however much more visible and easy to find than channel 453 or wherever the NHL has banished itself to these days.

Didn't the NHL used to be on Fox or another major network? I still think that lack of "major" exposure from a prominant network will eventually hurt the NHL in the end if they do not rectify this problem. The NHL has slipped so far out of view that the void it has left is being filled by NASCAR. (which I really don't care much for either.) In today's sports market, there is the NFL, NCAA Football, MLB, NCAA Basketball, NBA, NASCAR......heck, even golf has a strong following now. All of these are ahead of the NHL on the totem pole. I don't think that they can afford to fall much further behind imo, if they want to stay a viable option as a sport in the majority of the USA.

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by Tribe Fan 24

Agreed, I am not as big a fan of ESPN as I once was. It is, however much more visible and easy to find than channel 453 or wherever the NHL has banished itself to these days.

Didn't the NHL used to be on Fox or another major network? I still think that lack of "major" exposure from a prominant network will eventually hurt the NHL in the end if they do not rectify this problem. The NHL has slipped so far out of view that the void it has left is being filled by NASCAR. (which I really don't care much for either.) In today's sports market, there is the NFL, NCAA Football, MLB, NCAA Basketball, NBA, NASCAR......heck, even golf has a strong following now. All of these are ahead of the NHL on the totem pole. I don't think that they can afford to fall much further behind imo, if they want to stay a viable option as a sport in the majority of the USA.

The NHL still has games on a major US network, NBC. NHL coverage on networks, be it ABC, FOX, or NBC, never started until the all-star game, then they'd have a game on every Sunday. The NBC deal is horrible for the league though since they get no upfront money out of it, it's a revenue sharing type deal.

[Jordan]

I saw on the ESPN ticker that the Penguins and Philadelphia agreed to finance a new arena

Yay!

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by Jordan

I saw on the ESPN ticker that the Penguins and Philadelphia agreed to finance a new arena

Yay!

They're moving to Philly?

Seriously, though, I'm relieved. Sidney Crosby of the Kansas City Penguins would've been a frickin' tragedy.

[mgom27]

The story is that Penguins are going to be staying in Pittsburgh.
A 30 year lease.

[Operation Shutdown]

Originally Posted by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Arena deal keeps Penguins in Pittsburgh
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The puck stays here.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have reached an agreement with state and local officials for construction of a new arena that will keep the team here under a 30-year lease.

The basics of the agreement were reached in a make-or-break meeting last week in Philadelphia, where both sides reported that significant progress was made. Most remaining details were worked out over the weekend, according to sources close to the negotiations.

A formal announcement will be made later today, prior to the Penguins 7:30 p.m. home game against the Buffalo Sabres. Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to be on hand for the announcement.

The arena, which will cost about $290 million, is expected to be ready for the 2009-2010 National Hockey League season. The Penguins will continue to play at Mellon Arena under a short-term lease extension until the new arena is built.

Under terms of the deal, the Pens will pay $3.8 million per year toward construction and will add another $400,000 per year for capital improvements.

A meeting had been scheduled here for tomorrow, where Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle were supposed to meet with Mr. Rendell, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

It was not clear last night whether that meeting would still be held. It may only be needed to go over details of a deal that officials have been seeking for months.

Chuck Ardo, the governor's spokesman, said last night that he could not confirm there was a deal.

Neither Mr. Lemieux nor Mr. Burkle could be reached for comment last night.

But there was growing optimism that an agreement was near after Thursday's meeting in Philadelphia that lasted more than four hours.

The mood following that meeting was quite a turnaround from the climate only four days before, when Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle sent a letter to the politicians declaring an impasse in the talks and saying they would aggressively explore relocation.

What followed was a trip to Las Vegas, which is pursuing professional sports teams, and a sweetened offer from Kansas City, where the $276 million Sprint Center will be ready this year. The new offer improved on a deal that included free rent and half the building revenues.

With the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh hanging in the balance, Thursday's session in Philadelphia apparently significantly narrowed the differences between the two sides.

Neither Mr. Onorato nor Mr. Ravenstahl were available for comment yesterday.

Even before Thursday's meeting, the two sides did not appear to be far apart. In addition to paying for a share of the construction costs and capital improvements, the Penguins also agreed to pay $500,000 a year for a parking garage.

The rest of the funding would come from Pittsburgh casino licensee Don Barden, who would contribute $7.5 million a year, and from a gambling-financed state economic development fund, which would contribute $7.5 million annually..

One unresolved issue going into Thursday's meeting was how to pay the extra $20 million that was added as a contingency to a proposed arena bond issue, increasing it from $270 million to $290 million. Another sticking point was who would bear construction cost overruns.

The Penguins and the state have agreed to split the cost of any additional costs exceeding $290 million, up to a maximum of $310 million, sources said.

Even as negotiators were working on a final deal, the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority has fallen behind schedule in demolishing 11 buildings in the Fifth and Centre Avenue corridors in Uptown for the new arena.

The work probably won't start for another two weeks, said Doug Straley, authority development manager. The authority originally had hoped to begin in early February.

Despite the delay, Mr. Straley said the authority still expects to have the site cleared by Sept. 1, when construction of the arena is expected to start, with hopes of opening it in 2009.

He said demolition of the 11 buildings -- nine on Fifth Avenue and two on the Epiphany Church campus -- is expected to take four months. Empire Dismantlement Corp. of Grand Island, N.Y., received a $926,419 contract to do the work.

"This demolition can get done well within the time frame to deliver the site," he said.

In explaining the delay, Mr. Straley cited the Feb. 5 collapse of a section of flooring at the authority-owned David L. Lawrence Convention Center, saying that diverted staff time away from the arena. He also said it took longer than expected to remove asbestos from the buildings to be razed.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, Yay!!!!!!!

[Operation Shutdown]

Originally Posted by Azamien

They're moving to Philly?

I believe he was referring to the state of Pennsylvania, which resides entirely in Philly.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

I'm pleased for the Pittsburgh fans but it should have never got this far.

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by Operation Shutdown

I believe he was referring to the state of Pennsylvania, which resides entirely in Philly.

Is that a local joke that's going over my head? Sort of a "People from Philly have giant egos" thing?

[Joe Canadian]

Great! Not that this nonsence about the Penguins moving is over... maybe Bettman can now begin to realize that there are about 4-5 other teams that actually need to be moved. They can start with the Thrashers.