PITTSBURGH No local taxes for new arena

The new arena may have to be privately funded.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- No local taxes will be used in the construction of a new stadium for the Pittsburgh Penguins, said Dan Onorato, the incoming Allegheny County chief executive.
Onorato, scheduled to take office Jan. 2, said that if the team wants a replacement for its current home in Mellon Arena, it will have to seek funding from private sources.
"They need to make the deal work without local tax money," Onorato said.
Oldest and smallest
Mellon Arena is the oldest and second-smallest venue in the National Hockey League. A new stadium is expected to cost as much as $278.3 million.
The Penguins this summer unveiled plans to pay for part of a new hockey arena with $60 million from a group planning a horse racetrack with slot machines near the city.
There was no gambling bill included in the recently passed budget, though Gov. Ed Rendell has said he expects a gambling bill by February.
Calls to the team were not immediately returned Thursday.
Still a possibility
A new facility is still a possibility, but Onorato said team owners will have to be more creative in financing it.
He pointed to the privately financed arena in Columbus built for the expansion Blue Jackets. Insurance company Nationwide, based in Columbus, footed 90 percent of the $150 million tab for that arena.
Onorato also pointed to the region's own financial situation and said it was unrealistic to expect local funding.
"The NHL has to get its own fiscal house in order and the Penguins have to find private money," he said.