March 06, 2007
Pens owners take puck, go home
After two months of talks on a new publically funded hockey arena, Pittsburgh Penguins owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle declared an "impasse" in negotiations yesterday, and declared that they would "aggressively explore relocation" to another city - presumably Kansas City, which needs a tenant for its newly build Sprint Center, thought Houston and Las Vegas remain options as well.
So, are they serious, or is it a negotiating ploy?
- "I don't think there's any question you're trying to get more when you declare an impasse," state senator Wayne Fontana told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I don't know how much more the government can do."
- "It sounds like they're frustrated, but they didn't close it all down," said Allegheny County chief executive Dan Onorato. "We'll keep moving to get this done. My goal is to get this done. I thought it was close."
- "I just can't see them leaving Pittsburgh," an anonymous source told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think they're still negotiating, and this is a way to get the governor's office serious about completing the final details."
There you have it, sports fans: Even anonymous sources agree that talks aren't really dead. Maybe this latest breakdown in talks will be over in four days, like the last one.
Something doesn't add up. The Penguins claim they are now offering more in rent than originally requested by the city, plus will kick in some extra money and some parking funds. All while covering overruns? Neil - is the Penguins current offer really better than the terms the city were previously requesting? Seems like that newspaper is missing something?
Posted by: anon on March 6, 2007 05:55 PM
Your guess is as good as mine what the "impasse" is really about. I'll take another look at the reported numbers, though, and see if anything jumps out at me.
Posted by: Neil on March 7, 2007 11:02 AM
