NHL's Bettman agrees: Penguins may relocate in 2007

The NHL commissioner said the team needs a new arena to stay competitive.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ST. LOUIS -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't believe Mario Lemieux was being pessimistic a few days ago, when he said he believes there is only "a slim chance" the Penguins will remain in Pittsburgh after their lease at Mellon Arena expires in 2007.
Rather, Bettman said before Tuesday's Penguins-St. Louis game at Savvis Center that he thought Lemieux "very realistically" assessed the situation.
Lemieux, the Penguins' primary owner, and other team officials have said for years that the team needs an up-to-date arena to be financially viable, and Bettman reiterated his support for that position.
"It's a situation that needs to be rectified," he said. "This team needs a new arena. Nobody can dispute that. Nobody has disputed that."
Bettman listed seven cities -- Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Portland, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Quebec and Hamilton, Ontario -- that have expressed some interest in getting an NHL team, but said the NHL is "not looking to relocate" any of its franchises. He allowed, though, that "circumstances may cause it."
Looking ahead
The Penguins' lease expires in 2007, and it allows them to begin soliciting offers for the franchise a year earlier. Bettman said last night that "at some point in the process," the Penguins "have to explore their alternatives."
He also mentioned several times that the Steelers and Pirates play in venues that were built, in part, with public money, and said that having new facilities "gives them a great advantage" over the Penguins in the competition for support from fans and sponsors.
Bettman said he is in "constant contact" with Lemieux and team president Ken Sawyer about the state of the franchise, and that he believes the Penguins can be a successful operation.
"I believe Pittsburgh is a good hockey market," Bettman said. "We belong there."