Penguins co-Owner Roger Marino "backed off yesterday on
any implied threat to move the team to" Kansas City, "should
he be shut out of Plan B," according to Barnes & Kovacevic
of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Marino said that he "never
intended" for his trip to K.C. and a tour of its Kemper
Arena "to become public knowledge or for it to be viewed as
a threat to move the team." He also said yesterday that
three months ago, he'd taken a trip to Houston. Asked why
he made such trips, Marino said, "Just to see what was out
there." Marino met with Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy
yesterday, and afterwards, Marino said, "It was productive.
The mayor was miffed with me, and rightfully so. We had a
little bit of miscommunication." Murphy said that although
it was "too late to tinker with Plan B," he would consider
any additional information Marino wanted to submit regarding
a business plan for improving the Penguins' finances.
Marino said that he would submit such a plan in a few days
(PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/13). Marino: "I feel that the
mayor showed some willingness to help us" (Pittsburgh
TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/13). In Pittsburgh, Joe Starkey reports
that officials from the Public Auditorium Authority and SMG,
which own and run the Civic Arena, respectively, "say they
are willing to cooperate with the Penguins on a financial
restructuring plan" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/13).
BLADES GM DOUBTS K.C. READY FOR NHL: In K.C., IHL
Blades GM Doug Soetaert, on bringing the NHL to town: "When
I look at the economics of the IHL in Kansas City, that's
very doable. The economics of the NHL are far greater. I
don't know if there's enough revenue stream in Kansas City
to support that" (Jeffrey Flanagan, K.C. STAR, 8/13).
