furie Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/5158786 PITTSBURGH (AP) - Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux said he is doubtful that the team will remain in Pittsburgh after its Mellon Arena lease expires in 2007, citing a lack of progress on a new arena. The Penguins are projecting a $7 million loss this season, a figure that assumes the team will draw near-capacity crowds and advance to the second round of the playoffs. "I think we're really running out of time," Lemieux said Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indica Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 QUOTE (furie @ Dec 12 2005, 07:30 PM) http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/5158786 PITTSBURGH (AP) - Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux said he is doubtful that the team will remain in Pittsburgh after its Mellon Arena lease expires in 2007, citing a lack of progress on a new arena. The Penguins are projecting a $7 million loss this season, a figure that assumes the team will draw near-capacity crowds and advance to the second round of the playoffs. "I think we're really running out of time," Lemieux said Saturday. If they are getting near capacity crowds I don't understand how moving to a new city will help. It sounds like it's a management problem or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazzman Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 QUOTE (Indica @ Dec 12 2005, 11:23 PM) QUOTE (furie @ Dec 12 2005, 07:30 PM) http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/5158786 PITTSBURGH (AP) - Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux said he is doubtful that the team will remain in Pittsburgh after its Mellon Arena lease expires in 2007, citing a lack of progress on a new arena. The Penguins are projecting a $7 million loss this season, a figure that assumes the team will draw near-capacity crowds and advance to the second round of the playoffs. "I think we're really running out of time," Lemieux said Saturday. If they are getting near capacity crowds I don't understand how moving to a new city will help. It sounds like it's a management problem or something. It's much deeper than that. The revenue from ticket sales isn't enough to support the team. The arena is the oldest in the NHL, and their lease expires in 2007. Unlike many NHL teams, they rent the Mellon arena out. Not to mention the city of Pittsburgh itself is bankrupt and city taxes are enormous right now to try to get it out of debt. The Penguins have been near the bottom of league revenue for the past few seasons and have lost more money these past few years than they've made. If they do get the funds and permission to build the new arena, it most definitely won't be completed by 2007. At the earliest, it would be completed in 2008, and that's assuming they start construction very, very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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