Post by sawchuk103 on Jan 9, 2006 2:13:33 GMT -5
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Could the Penguins land in Hamilton?
Ever-hopeful Hamilton throws its arena in the ring, once again, if Lemieux's team bails out of Pittsburgh
Dec. 13, 2005. 05:14 AM
DONOVAN VINCENT AND JENNIFER QUINN
SPORTS REPORTERS
Mario Lemieux has hammered the For Sale sign into the Pittsburgh Penguins' proverbial front lawn and speculation has already started.
Could the "Return of the Winnipeg Jets Campaign" finally bear fruit? Would the Penguins move from one Steeltown to another? Does the NHL adore Quebec City? And what about new possibilities on the NHL map, places like Houston, Las Vegas and Kansas City?
Lemieux was not with the Penguins in Detroit yesterday but those around the team said his comment that the team had "a slim chance" of remaining in Pittsburgh was borne out of frustration at the lack of support he has received from the city and county toward constructing a new building to replace the 44-year-old Mellon Arena.
"I think we're running out of time," Lemieux said. "We probably ran out of time already. It's been unfortunate that the city and the county haven't been willing to work with us over the last two or three years."
So Lemieux's disappointment could be another city's gain.
Hamilton has been thwarted several times in its bid to land an NHL team, but a process is still in place if an opportunity pops up in the near future.
The city has an ongoing agreement with HHC Acquisition Corp, a firm tasked with finding and buying a team to play in Copps Coliseum.
Proponents, like the city's mayor, Larry Di Ianni, say Hamilton is "ideally situated" for an NHL team.
"We live within a fairly short driving distance of 6 million people. If other markets can support up to three teams, I think this market, given that dynamic, could probably make a go of it as well," Di Ianni said yesterday.
There are major obstacles. One is that Hamilton falls within the NHL territorial rights of both Toronto and Buffalo. Both clubs would have to sign off on the new franchise, plus be paid — handsomely — for allowing the infringement on their territory. And Copps, as an arena, needs tens of millions in upgrades.
Marvin Ryder, a business professor at Hamilton's McMaster University, was on the Copps board in 1990, when the city went after a big-league hockey team. He believes the NHL's isn't focused on Canada: it's looking for a bigger payday, with a national audience in the United States.
"The NHL has been after a holy grail for the last 10 or 15 years, which is a big television contract," Ryder said. "To give a sense of it, the NFL generates more than $1 billion in TV revenue. In the United States, the NHL is carried on the Outdoor Life Network."
So to lessen the league's regional reputation — big in Canada and the northeastern United States, but foreign, really, to many west of the Mississippi — and attract the big TV deal, the NHL needs strong teams in American markets.
The largest city in the U.S. that doesn't have an NHL team is Houston, the country's fourth biggest. Also big, puck-less and potentially profitable are San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas and Kansas City.
Ryder calls relocating the Penguins to an American city Plan A. Plan B, he said, would be deciding the NHL is in fact a regional sport and thereby moving the franchise to Canada.
The six largest Canadian cities already have teams, but Winnipeg, Quebec City, and Hamilton — all about the same size — and much smaller Halifax could all be in the mix.
Hamilton's story is intriguing in part because of behind-the-scenes dealings between the city and HHC Acquisition. The two sides paired up in 2004 and an anonymous financier with very deep pockets is involved — one rumour identified the sugar daddy as Jim Balsillie, the millionaire chairman and co-CEO of the firm that makes BlackBerry.
Toronto lawyer Richard Rodier represents the silent partner and was involved in past bids to move the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators to Hamilton when those clubs were faltering.
Rodier said yesterday that while he believes it's premature to sound the death knell for hockey in Pittsburgh, he wouldn't deny the company he's acting for is watching developments closely.
"I never say, `No way.' Right now, the situation is the team is looking to stay in Pittsburgh. If or when that situation changes we, together with interests in other cities, will take a look at it. (The Penguins) know where we are."
And, given Hamilton's past setbacks, Di Ianni says he and the rest of the city can never be more than cautiously optimistic. "If something were to materialize, a process would be put in place to look at it very, very seriously. But we're not going to hold out false hopes for ourselves, either."
In the U.S., Kansas City is building a new arena, the $250 million, 18,500-seat Sprint Center, which is set to open in 2007 — meshing perfectly with the Penguins' possible exit from Steeltown, U.S.A.
In the Penguins' case, it's not only the franchise that makes the team such an attractive investment, it's their franchise player.
Lemieux is getting on in hockey years, but rookie Sidney Crosby potentially has two decades of NHL productivity lying ahead. Any city that has a team with the youngster on the roster has a built-in draw.
Witness what Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive officer of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Staples Center and Los Angeles Kings, among other sports properties, told the Kansas City Star last month:
"The Pittsburgh Penguins can be the Kansas City Penguins, no question about it," Leiweke said. "That team here ... it will sell out every ticket in advance, end of story. That team will be a huge instant home run here. And that kid, Sidney Crosby, is unbelievable."
with files from Paul Hunter and Mark Zwolinski
Could the Penguins land in Hamilton?
Ever-hopeful Hamilton throws its arena in the ring, once again, if Lemieux's team bails out of Pittsburgh
Dec. 13, 2005. 05:14 AM
DONOVAN VINCENT AND JENNIFER QUINN
SPORTS REPORTERS
Mario Lemieux has hammered the For Sale sign into the Pittsburgh Penguins' proverbial front lawn and speculation has already started.
Could the "Return of the Winnipeg Jets Campaign" finally bear fruit? Would the Penguins move from one Steeltown to another? Does the NHL adore Quebec City? And what about new possibilities on the NHL map, places like Houston, Las Vegas and Kansas City?
Lemieux was not with the Penguins in Detroit yesterday but those around the team said his comment that the team had "a slim chance" of remaining in Pittsburgh was borne out of frustration at the lack of support he has received from the city and county toward constructing a new building to replace the 44-year-old Mellon Arena.
"I think we're running out of time," Lemieux said. "We probably ran out of time already. It's been unfortunate that the city and the county haven't been willing to work with us over the last two or three years."
So Lemieux's disappointment could be another city's gain.
Hamilton has been thwarted several times in its bid to land an NHL team, but a process is still in place if an opportunity pops up in the near future.
The city has an ongoing agreement with HHC Acquisition Corp, a firm tasked with finding and buying a team to play in Copps Coliseum.
Proponents, like the city's mayor, Larry Di Ianni, say Hamilton is "ideally situated" for an NHL team.
"We live within a fairly short driving distance of 6 million people. If other markets can support up to three teams, I think this market, given that dynamic, could probably make a go of it as well," Di Ianni said yesterday.
There are major obstacles. One is that Hamilton falls within the NHL territorial rights of both Toronto and Buffalo. Both clubs would have to sign off on the new franchise, plus be paid — handsomely — for allowing the infringement on their territory. And Copps, as an arena, needs tens of millions in upgrades.
Marvin Ryder, a business professor at Hamilton's McMaster University, was on the Copps board in 1990, when the city went after a big-league hockey team. He believes the NHL's isn't focused on Canada: it's looking for a bigger payday, with a national audience in the United States.
"The NHL has been after a holy grail for the last 10 or 15 years, which is a big television contract," Ryder said. "To give a sense of it, the NFL generates more than $1 billion in TV revenue. In the United States, the NHL is carried on the Outdoor Life Network."
So to lessen the league's regional reputation — big in Canada and the northeastern United States, but foreign, really, to many west of the Mississippi — and attract the big TV deal, the NHL needs strong teams in American markets.
The largest city in the U.S. that doesn't have an NHL team is Houston, the country's fourth biggest. Also big, puck-less and potentially profitable are San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas and Kansas City.
Ryder calls relocating the Penguins to an American city Plan A. Plan B, he said, would be deciding the NHL is in fact a regional sport and thereby moving the franchise to Canada.
The six largest Canadian cities already have teams, but Winnipeg, Quebec City, and Hamilton — all about the same size — and much smaller Halifax could all be in the mix.
Hamilton's story is intriguing in part because of behind-the-scenes dealings between the city and HHC Acquisition. The two sides paired up in 2004 and an anonymous financier with very deep pockets is involved — one rumour identified the sugar daddy as Jim Balsillie, the millionaire chairman and co-CEO of the firm that makes BlackBerry.
Toronto lawyer Richard Rodier represents the silent partner and was involved in past bids to move the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators to Hamilton when those clubs were faltering.
Rodier said yesterday that while he believes it's premature to sound the death knell for hockey in Pittsburgh, he wouldn't deny the company he's acting for is watching developments closely.
"I never say, `No way.' Right now, the situation is the team is looking to stay in Pittsburgh. If or when that situation changes we, together with interests in other cities, will take a look at it. (The Penguins) know where we are."
And, given Hamilton's past setbacks, Di Ianni says he and the rest of the city can never be more than cautiously optimistic. "If something were to materialize, a process would be put in place to look at it very, very seriously. But we're not going to hold out false hopes for ourselves, either."
In the U.S., Kansas City is building a new arena, the $250 million, 18,500-seat Sprint Center, which is set to open in 2007 — meshing perfectly with the Penguins' possible exit from Steeltown, U.S.A.
In the Penguins' case, it's not only the franchise that makes the team such an attractive investment, it's their franchise player.
Lemieux is getting on in hockey years, but rookie Sidney Crosby potentially has two decades of NHL productivity lying ahead. Any city that has a team with the youngster on the roster has a built-in draw.
Witness what Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive officer of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Staples Center and Los Angeles Kings, among other sports properties, told the Kansas City Star last month:
"The Pittsburgh Penguins can be the Kansas City Penguins, no question about it," Leiweke said. "That team here ... it will sell out every ticket in advance, end of story. That team will be a huge instant home run here. And that kid, Sidney Crosby, is unbelievable."
with files from Paul Hunter and Mark Zwolinski