Penguins face major franchise decisions

After a casino offer fell through, the team could be forced to move.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins gambled on getting a new arena for free from a slots-machine casino firm and failed, leaving owner Mario Lemieux with the difficult decision he never wanted to make.
Does a long-successful franchise with an enthusiastic and loyal fan base move on from this setback and negotiate a so-called Plan B deal with state and local politicians? Or do the Penguins simply move to another city?
The Pennsylvania gaming board voted unanimously Wednesday to award Pittsburgh's only slot-machine casino license to Detroit-based developer Don H. Barden's PITG Gaming, rather than Penguins' supported Isle of Capri Casinos. Isle of Capri was committed to building a 290 million arena next to the casino, at no team or taxpayer expense, if it obtained the slots license.
Two big setbacks
The Penguins were discouraged by the rejection of the Isle of Capri proposal, which came less than a week after Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie pulled out of a seemingly completed 175 million deal to buy the 40-year-old franchise. Balsillie apparently was scared off by the NHL's insistence that he couldn't move the club if the Isle of Capri proposal was rejected.
Now, the Penguins must find not only a new buyer but also a new way to build the arena or, if Lemieux has exhausted his patience after seeking a new arena for seven years, a new city in which to play. Kansas City, Houston and Portland are interested in landing one of the league's youngest and most promising teams, led by two players who have yet to turn 21 in NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Period of uncertainty
"At this point, our franchise enters a period of uncertainty, with our lease at Mellon Arena set to expire this summer," Penguins 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."
The Penguins' lease at 45-year-old Mellon Arena ends in June, and Lemieux is free to move the team after that. But the Hall of Fame player, one of the most popular athletes in Pittsburgh history, likely would move the team only if he has no other option.
Still, Lemieux warned on Monday, "We own the franchise, and we decide the fate of the franchise."
Steelers, Pirates disappointed
The Steelers and Pirates were surprised and troubled the gaming panel's decision that will allow Barden's casino to be built close to their stadiums.
The Steelers, long opposed to sharing their North Side neighborhood with a 450 million glass-and-steel casino, issued a terse statement that didn't disguise their anger that the casino will be only a block away from Heinz Field.
"We are extremely disappointed in the decision of the Gaming Commission to award the casino license on the North Shore," Steelers president Art Rooney II said. "It seemed it was a process that was designed to give little weight to local interests and the result is indicative of that. We will have to consider all of our options in determining how to respond to this decision."
The Pirates' tone was more conciliatory than that of the Steelers, perhaps because their PNC Park is four or five blocks away from the planned casino.
That doesn't mean that Pirates chairman Kevin McClatchy isn't worried about large crowds of baseball and gambling fans converging simultaneously into a congested area that keeps losing parking spots to development projects.
"What I worry about is if it will cause congestion," McClatchy said. "We do well on weekends, with 30,000 fans over here, and if you add 4,000 cars to the mix, it's a challenge. Will our fans have the ability to get to the ballpark quickly, or will it create congestion that hurts everybody?"
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