Penguins co-Owner Roger Marino unveiled a prospect
called "Plan C," which called for solving the team's "short-
term problems by renegotiating some contracts but will only
achieve long-term health" if the team gets a new arena,"
according to Robert Dvorchak of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE.
Marino: "It's going to take five years to break even. This
is not something we're going to come out of tomorrow."
Marino also said that SMG "has shown no interest in
renegotiating" the team's $7M annual rent, the highest in
the league. Marino: "SMG just won't budge. They have a
stranglehold on the area" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 10/17).
In an interview, Marino said the team's "inability to come
to terms with SMG" made filing for bankruptcy inevitable.
He said a renegotiated deal with Fox Sports has "basically
... extended the duration of the contract a little bit more"
and that Fox "gave us a little more money on a per year
basis." Marino, on his reputation: "I think the biggest
misconception is that I am a bad guy trying to do bad things
and trying to make some money here" (TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 10/18).
BETTMAN'S MISTAKE? In Pittsburgh, Dejan Kovacevic wrote
that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who two months ago "had
vowed to seize" the Pens if they filed for bankruptcy, "took
a big gamble" when he "decided ... to let the situation play
out." Kovacevic: "That may or may not come back to bite
him, but this much is certain: The rest of the NHL was
watching with great interest." NHL VP/Legal Affairs Bill
Daly, on whether the move could hurt the league: "No ... for
two reasons. First, we're not happy about this and we've
made everyone aware of that. Second, it's not something we
would encourage anyone to do. It's just that this time, we
felt it was unavoidable" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 10/18).
FAITHFUL FANS: Also in Pittsburgh, Ron Cook noted the
attendance for Saturday's Penguins home-opener against the
Rangers was 16,573: "Considering the turmoil of the week,
the turnout was dynamite" (POST-GAZETTE, 10/18).
