Penguins will stay in city

Last night was a hockey night in Pittsburgh as the Penguins hosted the Buffalo Sabres at the… Last night was a hockey night in Pittsburgh as the Penguins hosted the Buffalo Sabres at the Mellon Arena. And the way it’s looking, it will be a hockey night in Pittsburgh for a long, long time.

Gov. Ed Rendell, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and team owner Mario Lemieux, among others, announced yesterday that team owners and government leaders have reached a deal to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, the city they have played in for 40 years, for an additional 30 years.

And apparently gambling and a casino played a large part in the Penguins’ future.

“Were it not for gaming, the first puck drop for the Penguins next year would be in Kansas City,” Gov. Rendell said at a press conference yesterday. “Make no mistake. The deal in Kansas City was a great deal for the Penguins. In the end, it was the strength, loyalty and support the fans have given their team over the years, through good and bad.”

Ravenstahl alluded to the incredible fan support when he told the crowd that he received 1,500 e-mails in one day alone thanking him and other local politicians for keeping the Penguins here. However, “the fans have no one to thank but themselves,” according to Rendell.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato also credited Penguins fans with keeping their team in the city.

“Packing that arena gave us the leverage to call Pittsburgh a hockey town,” he said. “[The fans] played a key part in keeping the team here. Today is a great day for our region.”

Onorato also agreed with Rendell’s statement about gaming funds playing a large role in the overall process.

“The process was rough. Without these gaming dollars, I’m not so sure we’d be standing here today with a deal.”

About $15 million annually will be contributed through gaming funds, while no money will be spent by local taxpayers. Don Barden, whose PITG Gaming won the right to open a casino in Pittsburgh, will pay $7.5 million per year for 30 years. The Penguins will pay $4.2 million yearly for the new arena. The overall cost of construction is expected to cost over $290 million.

Rendell said the owners of the Penguins were “very tough” and that “they wore us down,” and Lemuiex also commented that he and Rendell didn’t always agree. However, everyone was pleased in the end.

“The process wasn’t pretty,” Onorato said. “But the ending was what we all wanted.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman showered praise on the man he holds responsible for the Penguins staying in the city.

“What can be said about Mario Lemuiex that hasn’t been said,” he said. “What [he has] done for Pittsburgh, the Penguins and the NHL is nothing short of remarkable. We always believed in Pittsburgh, and the Penguins belong here.”

The new arena will border Fifth Avenue in the Uptown section of the city, close to Mellon Arena’s current location. The new “state-of-art, first-class” arena will be ready for use before the 2009 NHL season.