Homeless Penguins?

Recent talk has been fixated upon the fate of Mario Lemieux's precious Pittsburgh Penguins. Currently, the Penguins call Mellon Arena home. Lemieux and the Penguins have been caught in a whirlwhind debate with the city and officials over funding for a new arena. Mellon Arena is the oldest and smallest arena in the NHL and the fate of the Penguins lies upon the much needed backing of the city for a new arena. With prospective buyers backing out, the Penguins fate looks dim. Jim Balsillie withdrew his offer to buy the Penguins once Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL made contractual arrangements to prevent Balsillie from relocating the Penguins. The Penguins also had an offer from Isle of Capri Casinos to build a $290 million arena next to their casino but their slots licence was denied. The city of Pennsylvania is offering a Plan B option which they provided for Pittsburgh's other professional teams the Steelers and Pirates in 2001. The Plan B option entails that the state will kick in $7 million with the Barden group providing $7.5 million a year for the next 30 years. But this means that the team itself will also have to chip in for the new arena. The Isle of Capri offer appears to be the best that the Penguins may get, a chance to remain within the city and to have a new arena built for free. Lemieux has stated that the Penguins are off the market for now and that relocation will not become an option until all others fail. It appears that Kansas City, Houston, and Winnipeg may end up being viable options if all others fall through. The Penguins lease on Mellon Arena expires at the end of the '06-'07 season and after that it is anyone's guess where the Penguins will call home.