No Isle Slot Machines Means Penguins Might Leave

Since the announcement that the Isle of Capri casinos would not be getting the slot machine license for Pittsburgh, there has been talk of the Penguins leaving Pittsburgh once their license at Mellon Arena has expired. The Penguins had agreed to stay if Isle had gotten the slot machine license, as they had agreed to build a new arena for the Penguins, with no money from taxpayers or from the team themselves. However, now that the slot machine license has not been awarded to Isle, Pittsburgh is hoping that the Penguins will be willing to cough up some of the dough themselves.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said that he was considering asking the National Hockey League to step in if they are not able to come to an agreement. He said that the latest deal is so good that he doesn’t see how they would choose to leave and that if they did he would go to the NHL board and ask them to intercede. Owner Mario Lemieux said just last week that he thought the talks had taken a step backward.

Rendell said the new proposal only has the Penguins paying less than 18% of the cost of the new arena. The Penguins say that this all could have been avoided in the slot machine license portion of the deal. They say that they should not have to pay for a new arena when the state had someone willing to pay for it – as long as they had gotten the slot machine license. Don Barden won the slot machine license, and has agreed to pay $7.5 million a year toward the new arena.

The team is looking into other options; they have gone to see Kansas City and are considering Houston as well. They have always played in the Mellon Arena since they were created 40 years ago, and having been built in 1961 it is the oldest arena in the league.

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