NHL Penguins' officials still hopeful for new arena, deny team for sale

The next few months are important as the team pursues an arena deal.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins aren't for sale, even though they're trying to sell a proposed site for their new arena and have nearly doubled Mario Lemieux's salary, Lemieux and other team officials said Thursday.
The team is seeking offers for a vacant hospital across from Mellon Arena because retaining it is proving expensive, not because the franchise has given up hope of landing a new arena, Lemieux said.
Lemieux also denied that the slow pace of arena negotiations and the team's ongoing financial losses have convinced him to sell the team. He has said repeatedly that the team he purchased in federal bankruptcy court in 1999 would be sold only if it became certain that a new arena would not be built.
"The team is not for sale. When the team is for sale, I will let everybody know publicly, myself," said Lemieux, the Penguins' owner-player. "Until that happens, the team is not for sale."
Wasting money
Team president Ken Sawyer said selling a large parcel of downtown property often takes a long time, and the Penguins are merely protecting themselves should the new arena not be built. If the former St. Francis Central Hospital site is sold before a deal is done, Sawyer said a site above Mellon Arena could be used for the new building.
"We fully expect to have an arena deal in place before the sale of the hospital," Sawyer said. "If we don't, we don't want to wait a year after that to sell the property. We have to move on if there's no arena deal."
The hospital site cost the Penguins about $8 million in 2000. They have since spent an estimated $1 million per year on various costs, including property taxes.
Swayer said the next few months are important as the Penguins pursue a deal to replace 42-year-old Mellon Arena, which is the NHL's oldest and later this year will be its smallest arena.
Racetrack entrepreneur Ted Arneault has offered $60 million for the arena -- about one-quarter of the arena's cost -- if he is awarded a license to build a racetrack with slot machines near Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Legislature is expected to decide before the holidays whether to legalize slot machines in the state.
The Legislature previously appropriated $90 million for the arena, but that money cannot be released until Gov. Ed Rendall authorizes it.
"The critical piece in the whole plan is, the state must pass the slots legislation ... it is a key element because we need that in our plan," Sawyer said.
Lemieux is not bailing
Both Sawyer and Lemieux emphatically denied that the decision by the Penguins board of directors to nearly double Lemieux's salary, coupled with the decision to sell the arena site, are signals that Lemieux is bailing out.
Lemieux's $5.25 million playing salary remains the same this season, but the board also increased his salary for his off-ice duties to $2.25 million. The team has not said how much he was paid previously for that role. He also will be paid $2.5 million in deferred compensation.