Can Penguins Fly??

As I mentioned in the News and Notes 07.24.06 post, Sam Fingold was the leading bidder for the Pittsburgh Penguins. According to AP's Alan Robinson , Fingold has signed a letter of intent to buy the team.

The deal that Fingold would agree to includes carrying out the deal that the former ownership group, with Mario Lemieux, had with the Isle of Capri Casinos, in which Isle of Capri would build a new arena if they got a gambling license. Also, the state, county, and city have a "Plan B" ready if Isle of Capri doesn't get the bid.

When looking at the monetary figures, Fingold is going to agree to buying the team for $175M, which is reportedly $5M less than the group which included Mark Cuban and Dan Marino who would have kept the team in Pittsburgh no if, ands, or buts. Yet, money talks, and Fingold must have done something to really woo the current ownership group. I think much had to do with agree to hold up to the whole Isle of Capri deal that has been set into place.

However, if that doesn't come to be-- that's where it'll get interesting. Of course, everyone in the state and local government have been talking about the plan to keep the team in Pittsburgh, but holding up to the whole ordeal is another story entirely. Frankly, I don't know if they would step up if push came to shove. Of course, if they don't, you can bet that if the team leaves, hockey fans would probably not vote for those officials coming up next election.

Now, if something can't be done, Fingold had said he had interest in moving the team to Kansas City and into the new Sprint Center, which should be open in 2007. Whether or not that will happen, it all depends on what happens with the casino licenses in PA. The one thing that gets me is that this whole license deal seems to have been going on forever. When the bloody hell will they dish them out.

Even if you don't hear the outcome, you can bet someone who's a hockey nut will let you know about toot sweet. This is the drama for your momma that never ends.