The Penguins "have access to enough money to operate
until the end of the month," meaning prospective Owner Mario
Lemieux "does not need to close on his purchase and
refinancing of the team this week," according to Ann Belser
of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Though the Penguins' line
of credit with French bank Societe Generale expires on
Friday, the team "can borrow enough before then to avoid a
shutdown" if Lemieux can't close the deal on Friday. A key
component of Lemieux's financial plan will be decided
tonight when the Allegheny County Regional Asset District
board "votes on whether to allocate sales tax revenue to
help" the city and county pay $16M in Civic Arena bond debt.
If Lemieux's purchase is not completed this week, the team
"can operate" by borrowing money from Societe Generale
through August 31. SG Cowen Sports Advisory Group Dir
Gordon St. Denis, whose company is a subsidiary of Societe
Generale: "We're going to do whatever is in the best
interest to keep the franchise in Pittsburgh and maintain
the franchise value" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/17).
PATRICK SAID HE HAS BEEN GIVEN A SIGN: Despite the
team's uncertain financial situation, Penguins GM Craig
Patrick has signed five of the team's restricted free agents
to contracts worth nearly $14M during the past few weeks.
Patrick: "I got a budget from Mario's group, so we knew what
was going on. We were well aware of what our positions
could and couldn't be" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/17).
