Penguins Brass Meets With K.C., Sprint Center Officials
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Leiweke Begins Talks With
Penguins Ownership Group
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AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke yesterday met with Penguins co-Owners Mario Lemieux
and Ron Burkle and President & CEO Ken Sawyer and is scheduled to show them the
Sprint Center today, according to Randy Covitz of the K.C. STAR. Leiweke said
that the franchise has “the opportunity to invest $27[M] –- half of AEG’s stake
in the arena –- to become joint partners in the building.” Leiweke: “You essentially
get a $300[M] arena for free and 100[%] of the revenue streams for ... $27[M].
They would be our 50-50 partner in the management company, they’d have a lease,
and a majority of the revenue in the arena is going to be given to the arena through
the lease.” California-based business exec William Del Biaggio III, who has a
deal with AEG to operate an NHL team at the venue, did not attend the meeting,
but Leiweke said that Del Biaggio “has been negotiating with Lemieux, a business
partner in other ventures.” Leiweke indicated that he knew the Penguins “could
be using [K.C.] as leverage to get a better deal in Pittsburgh.” Leiweke: “Chances
are better than not they work this out in Pittsburgh. But if they don’t, we have
to prove to them they don’t need to look any further than [K.C.]” (K.C. STAR,
1/4).
NEXT STEPS: ESPN’s Barry Melrose said of the Penguins officials visiting
K.C., “Mario’s playing a bit of poker. He wants something in his other pocket
when he goes to [Pittsburgh officials]” (ESPNews, 1/3). Hartford-based
business exec Sam Fingold, who bid on the team last summer, said K.C. “has a great
facility and great grass roots effort to get a team, so in my opinion they are
the clear front-runner. ... Unless (team owners) get a fabulous Plan B, my outside
opinion is, this doesn’t look good for Pittsburgh.” In Pittsburgh, Conte & Rossi
report Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez “personally wrote to Lemieux, asking to be on
the team’s short list” of potential relocation sites. But Hartford Whalers Booster
Club President Al Victor said, “I don’t think Mario would move the team here without
a guarantee there’s going to be a [new] building.” Conte & Rossi note other cities
like Oklahoma City, Las Vegas and Winnipeg “wait in the wings” (TRIBUNE-REVIEW,
1/4). Melrose added, “Gut reaction, I think they stay in Pittsburgh because
so many good things have happened in Pittsburgh. ... The NHL wants to keep the
team in Pittsburgh. Mario would love to keep the team in Pittsburgh” (“SportsCenter,”
1/3).
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