Penguins Staying Put?

Well, I never imagined Minnesota LOSING a hockey team till it happened. I don't even know anything about the new team they have.

But I do know that the Stars won the cup not long after they moved to Dallas.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2703666
Casino aligned with Pens not awarded license
Associated Press


PITTSBURGH -- The Penguins' future in Pittsburgh was in doubt following the state's rejection Wednesday of a slot-machine casino application by Isle of Capri Casinos, which had promised to build a $290 million arena if it got a license.

The Penguins ownership group, headed by Hall of Fame player Mario Lemieux, were discouraged by the outcome and said the franchise would begin weighing all options -- including possible sale to owners who would move the two-time Stanley Cup champions.

The Isle of Capri rejection came only five days after wealthy Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie unexpectedly pulled out of his $175 million deal to buy the franchise, apparently because the NHL wanted him to commit to not moving the Penguins. Balsillie had been expected to close on the deal late last week.

"At this point, our franchise enters a period of uncertainty, with our lease at Mellon Arena set to expire this summer," chief executive officer Ken Sawyer said. "We will re-evaluate all of our options before deciding on a course of action and making further comment."

Even as city and county politicians held a news conference to announce they would immediately begin to finalize an alternate arena deal for the Penguins, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman warned that the Penguins' future is in doubt.

"The decision by the Gaming Commission was terrible news for the Penguins, their fans and the NHL," Bettman said in a statement. "The future of this franchise in Pittsburgh is uncertain and the Penguins now will have to explore all other options, including possible relocation. The NHL will support the Penguins in their endeavors."

After the decision was announced, the Penguins practiced at Mellon Arena, the 45-year-old building the team says must be replaced for it to remain viable in Pittsburgh.

The board voted unanimously to award the city's only slot-machine license to Detroit-based casino developer Don H. Barden's PITG Gaming. Barden's group proposes building a casino and entertainment development on the city's North Shore, near Heinz Field and PNC Park. Both the Steelers and Pirates were strongly opposed to his plan.

Barden had promised to contribute some money for a new arena over 30 years under a plan proposed by city and county officials that would include public funds. But that plan also calls for the Penguins to help pay for the facility.

"I am committed to what we said we were going to do," Barden said Wednesday. "We're going to fund $7.5 million a year for 30 years toward financing a new multipurpose arena."

He said he will meeting soon with Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl to get the process moving.

"It will be the largest of our operations and we're going to put a lot of attention on this project," Barden said. "We're going to get it going right away."

Onorato and Ravenstahl all but promised the Penguins will get a new arena. A parcel of land near Mellon Arena has already been obtained for the arena, and officials said a groundbreaking ceremony could be held as early as next month if they can reach an agreement with the Penguins.

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind we will get an arena done," Ravenstahl said.

 

I would rather have an NHL team over the Aeros even though prices are high.

The NHL is a third of forth tear sport in this country but it still is the best hockey league in the world

 

I would be the biggest fan if we had an NHL team. Get it done Houston...

even better if we stuck with the same colors and name as the Aeros

 

even better if we were able to lure the Edmonton Oilers here!


but watching Crosby's career wouldn't suck!

 

They just talked about it on ESPNEWS. They asked some NHL expertwhere he thinks the team could end up. He said that he is almost certain they will leave Pittsburgh and the most likely destinations wer Kansas City or Houston. He also said Winnipeg was interested but had no chance of getting the team.

 

good analysis all the way around, north star. it's les or bust with houston. which worries me because i'm not real sure he WANTS to own an NHL team, really.

i wonder, though...is KC's market any smaller than Pittsburgh's?? i would think the fact the Blues are in St. Louis (and have been for many years) would cut into the attractiveness of KC as a hockey market...but what do i know???!!

 

he's stated in the past that he has wanted an NHL team and even bid on the edmonton oilers to relocate them to houston

if houston has an NHL team, I personally would go to the games

 

The Rockets can't get anybody to come to their games, and they've been here for 35 years...why would anybody go to an NHL game?

 

I would go to the hockey games. I used to have rockets tickets as well but after they won the championships the prices just skyrocketed. It just got too rediculous and we had to let them go. if they lowered the prices maybe more people would come. hopefully the hockey tickets would be cheap.

 

People would at first because it would be something new to do. People will keep going because this team has the 2 best young stars on their team and it will be awesome watching these guys grow and become the next Gretzky and Lemieux.

 

In the mid-1990s, Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington was in a precarious financial situation. Pocklington's main creditor, the Alberta Treasury Branches, were demanding repayment of millions of dollars worth of loans that ATB had made to Pocklington in the 1980s and early 1990s. The once-popular Pocklington had a strained relationship with Edmontonians due in part to his decision to trade Wayne Gretzky as well as a variety of other reasons. As a result, attendance at the Edmonton Coliseum had declined - partly due to the team's declining on-ice fortunes but also due to personal animosity towards the owner.

This animosity hindered a 1996 season ticket drive that was needed to keep the team in Edmonton. It was largely due to the perseverance of future EIG partner Cal Nichols, that the Friends of the Oilers ticket drive ultimately expanded the season ticket base from a dismal 6,200 to over 13,400, enough to secure the team's future for the short term. However, it was increasingly obvious that Pocklington would not be around for the long term. In early 1997, Pocklington announced his intention to sell up to 45% of the team on the stock market. Pressure from ATB forced him to abandon this plan and put the team up for sale.

When the Oilers were put up for sale, many doubted whether a local ownership could be found and believed the proud franchise would be re-located to an American city as had happened with the teams in Quebec City in 1995 and Winnipeg in 1996. In 1997 the population of the Edmonton metropolitan area was still under one million, a figure viewed by many fans to be the minimum base a major sports team needs to be financially viable. With the only other former World Hockey Association team in Hartford re-locating in 1997, many analysts predicted that the "domino effect" would be completed in 1998 with the Oilers' move.

However, the terms of Pocklington's lease at what was then known as the Edmonton Coliseum prevented him from unilaterally moving the team or selling it to someone who intended to move it. The lease stipulated that an ownership group willing to keep the team in Edmonton would have six weeks from the time any such intention was declared to purchase the team for US$70 million. In addition, the ATB is a crown corporation owned by the Albertan government, though they treated the matter as non-political. While Albertan Premier Ralph Klein wanted to keep the Oilers in the capital, he was wary of a series of scandals involving favouritism at the ATB that had plagued his predecessor, Don Getty, in the 1980s. Klein was unwilling to make any move that might have been perceived by voters as government subsidization of a hockey club that paid multi-million dollar salaries.

Nichols, a prominent businessman in his own right, immediately began putting together an ownership group. At the time, the Albertan economy -- driven by the oilpatch -- was still recovering from price crashes in the 1980s and 1990s. Most Albertan investors preferred to commit their money to the re-emerging oilpatch, not a "small-market" hockey team. With no single Albertan magnate willing to commit $100 million to purchase the team, Nichols was forced to secure smaller investments from a larger number of investors. Lenders were willing to finance 40% of the purchase price, meaning Nichols needed to come up with about $60 million. Nichols had about $35 million in investments when an offer of US$85 million came from a buyer who wanted to move the team to Houston.

The Oilers' sale attracted interest in from several American cities, and as Nichols was securing local investors, an offer of US$85 million came from Les Alexander, a Houston-based businessman and an owner of the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. Houston, which had recently had an application for an expansion team rejected by the league, was (and still is) the largest U.S. city without an NHL franchise. Alexander's original offer was to keep the team in Edmonton on the condition that the lease be terminated, attendance remained at acceptable levels, a local ownership group was eventually found and an expansion team be granted to Alexander in Houston. The Edmonton City Council rejected these terms, believing they gave Alexander too much discretion to move the Oilers to Texas. The city believed the lease they negotiated with Pocklington was still the best chance they had of keeping the team in Edmonton in the long term. Alexander then offered the ATB (which had the team in receivership by then) US$85 million to purchase the team and move it to Houston, and submitted a US$5 million deposit. Nichols was given until March 13, 1998 to match the deposit and commit to purchasing the team for US$70 million, or the lease would be automatically terminated and the team would move.

Nichols was eventually able to assemble a group of 38 local investors. As the deadline neared, the Edmonton Investors Group (EIG) decided to commit to the purchase by matching Alexander's deposit with a down payment of US$5 million. The remainder of the US$70 million was paid to ATB 40 days later, and the NHL then approved the sale. Although major sporting leagues generally frown upon large ownership groups controlling franchises, the NHL decided to forego putting a team in Houston and allow the Oilers' sale to EIG to proceed as they did not want to lose any more Canadian teams - this would have put their lucrative Canadian television contracts in jeopardy.

The Edmonton Investors Group Ltd. is mainly a local ownership group, but includes a few business people from outside the city as well. The Oilers sale even drew interest from Calgary-born comic book creator Todd McFarlane, creator of the famous Spawn character. McFarlane later designed the Oilers’ third jersey.

The Oilers' new owners have maintained good relations with fans. As a result, fans in Edmonton backed the league-imposed lockout of 2004-05 even though it wiped out an entire season, and came back after the lockout was settled. In the 2005-06 NHL season, the Oilers sold out every home game except one, where a computer glitch prevented the release of several hundred tickets.

Following a successful 2005-06 season which saw the Oilers fall one win short of winning the Stanley Cup and an unprecedented boom in the Albertan economy, fan support reached unprecedented levels. A waiting list for season ticket buyers, unheard of during the days of Pocklington's ownership, has been put in place after the owners were compelled to cap the number of season tickets sold. The team has also announced that a lottery will be held for the right to purchase multi-game packages at Rexall Place.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_Investors_Group_Limited_Partnership

 

i'm not sure he still feels the same way. just a hunch...i'm not sure he's all that interested.

but i'm with you...i would LOVE for the NHL to come to Houston. I'd love to have 10 years of Sidney Crosby here.

 

yes, that happened.

and when the league finally expanded, houston and atlanta were seen as the no-brainer markets. it was considered a slam-dunk. alexander got in the way because it would have been chuck watson's team. he created enough confusion about arena issues to make sure the NHL wouldn't put a team here which would compete with his rockets. many of us weren't real happy with that.

i'm just skeptical that alexander will actually go out and buy an NHL team. he's already forced out competition...he's the only one who can make this happen here. we'll see what happens. i hope to be pleasantly surprised!

 

Well, Chuck Watson was very instrumental in KILLING the first arena proposal, simply over "sour grapes." He wanted to be the "man" in Houston, albeit he was a minor league hockey team owner going up against a guy who delivered the only 2 professional championships this city had ever seen.

He also wanted the city to renovate the Compaq Center... the building that HE owned the revenue to. Alexander's biggest mistake was not picking up the lease on the summit way back when it was up for grabs... if he had done that, Watson would have continued to be a nobody.

I'm not sure if Alexander goes for this. Since he's gotten older, he's focused his efforts on some silly endeavers... see www.milkshop.com.