Penguins considering offers to buy the team

There is no guarantee that the team will stay in Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Penguins are considering a handful of offers to buy the team, and keeping it in Pittsburgh will remain a priority but is not guaranteed, owner and player Mario Lemieux said Thursday.
A recent offer by a casino firm to build a new arena, an influx of young talent and the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement have made the time right to consider selling, said Lemieux and team president Ken Sawyer.
"We've had quite a few inquiries over the last few months," Lemieux said Thursday. "I think the timing was right to look at them and explore them and see what our options are. ... We've laid the foundation for the future and hopefully in a way that they'll stay here forever."
Lemieux and Sawyer, who is taking over Lemieux's CEO duties immediately, wouldn't identify the handful of interested parties. Most of the prospective buyers approached them before Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. offered last month to pay $290 million for a new arena, if the gambling firm gets a license to operate a slot machine parlor in Pittsburgh.
Conditions
Lemieux has said the team would stay in Pittsburgh if Isle of Capri gets the slots license and that any new owner would be bound by that agreement. Isle of Capri must beat out three others seeking the license, which isn't expected to be awarded until later this year, at the earliest.
The Penguins' lease on 45-year-old Mellon Arena, the smallest and oldest facility in the NHL, runs through June 2008, and Lemieux has said the team could leave the city if it doesn't have a new arena by then.
Asked why he's not waiting to see if the Isle of Capri deal is approved before selling the team, Lemieux said: "I said before I'm not going to be the one that's going to move the franchise, and there's a possibility of that happening."
But Lemieux said the team isn't being shopped in an effort to move it.
"There's some [interested buyers] from out of town, but that doesn't mean they're going to move the team to Kansas City or Vegas or Houston or all the towns that have been mentioned," Lemieux said.
Lemieux and Sawyer wouldn't discuss the team's value.
Values have increased
Mike Ozanian, a senior editor who specializes in sports franchises at Forbes Magazine, said the value of all NHL franchises has increased since before the lockout due to the salary cap. He estimates the Penguins are worth $100 million, but would be worth up to 30 percent more with a new arena.
But the promise of a new arena might not be worth the wait, Ozanian said.
"If you look at the Penguins, they're financially in horrible shape," Ozanian said. "How long do the current owners want to keep their investment tied up in a team that is not giving them much in terms of income or price appreciation?"
Lemieux said before the season that the team would lose $7 million this year, assuming the Penguins made it to the second round of the playoffs.
Under-achievement
But the team has underachieved, despite winning the rights to draft rookie sensation Sidney Crosby and signing several free agents in an effort to build an immediate contender. Before the New York Rangers game Thursday night, the Penguins were 11-26-9 -- the second-worst record in the league and 19 points out of a playoff spot. They changed coaches in December.
Lemieux and Sawyer said the team isn't being sold out of frustration with its performance or because state and local politicians have yet to come up with a deal for a new arena that was promised when Lemieux's group bought the team in 1999.
"I hope none of you expected Mario to own this team forever," Sawyer said. "He's done more than he should ... and he's teed this up perfectly for the community to jump at a great opportunity for this team to stay here."