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At some point in this process, if there's no prospect of a new arena, the Penguins are going to have to explore their alternatives.
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GARY BETTMAN
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NHL commissioner urging the political process to ensure a new venue in Pittsburgh
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• The Beatles performed a concert on September 14, 1964.
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar sold more than 2 million copies in 12 months and became 1971's number-one-selling album.
In July of that year, 13,000 Superstar fans packed the Civic Arena to see the opera performed in concert. That performance was just the runner-up to a full-blown Broadway production that opened on Broadway on October 12, 1971.
• Elvis Presley performed there on June 25, 1973 and later on December 31, 1975.
• The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh was filmed at the arena in 1979.
• The arena was featured in the 1995 film, Sudden Death, starring Jean Claude Van Damme. |
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The future home of the Pittsburgh Penguins?
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When the Lemieux Group bought the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1999, the team sought a new arena funded with public money in a deal similar to the ones that built Heinz Field (Pittsburgh Steelers) and PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates). The team's lease at the Mellon Arena expires on June 30, 2007.
In July 2004, the Penguins sought to link the cost associated with the new building construction with slots profits, thus sparing taxpayers the burden of replacing the 16,940-seat Mellon Arena, which opened in 1961 and is the oldest and smallest arena in the NHL.
The Penguins planned to pay a $50 million license fee and the cost for one parlor of 5,000 slots, to be located in or near Downtown.
 Although professional sports generally try to avoid any association with gambling, the NHL has given its blessing for the Penguins to pursue a slots license. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that league would have no problem with a team owning and operating a parlor, even if it were part of the arena.
"At some point in this process, if there's no prospect of a new arena, the Penguins are going to have to explore their alternatives," Bettman said in December 2005. "They simply don't have a choice."
"And so, in terms of the Penguins being viable long-term, they need a new arena," Bettman said.
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New Arena Facade.
Mouse over for current view.
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Pens Partner With Slots Parlor
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Rather than start the slots application process on its own, the Penguins partnered with Isle of Capri of Biloxi, Miss., which filed an application with the state Gaming Control Board on December 28, 2005, for the slots casino.
After partnering on the slots proposal, the Penguins and Isle of Capri formed a nonprofit group called Pittsburgh First, which would have received $1million a year for redevelopment of the Lower Hill District.
If Isle of Capri would have won the bid for the city's sole slots license, it promised to give the hockey team $290 million for an arena, which would sit across the street from the Mellon Arena between Epiphany Catholic Church and the new $500 million casino.
The proposal would have helped the Penguins to build a state-of-the-art 18,500-seat arena for hockey. It would take 18 months to construct.
The two other casino applicants have said they support using gambling money for building an arena.
Detroit businessman Don Bardon, who wants to put a Majestic Star Casino on the North Shore, said he would pay $7.5 million a year for thirty years to help pay for an arena.
Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises, which wanted to build Harrah's Station Square Casino, supported Gov. Ed Rendell's alternate plan for building an arena. It also called for the casino operator to pay $7.5 million a year for an arena.
Under those plans, the Penguins would pay more than $4 million a year toward the arena. The state also would contribute other slots money to the project.
The state's Gaming Control Board awarded the slots to Don Barden and Majestic Star December 20, 2006.
After winning the casino license Barden reaffirmed his Plan B commitment of $7.5 million a year for 30 years for the new arena.
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Arena interior design. Mouse over image to zoom.
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Penguins sign agreement to stay in city until 2040
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September 20, 2007- Gov. Ed Rendell and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato announced that the Penguins have formally signed a lease for a new arena that commits them to staying in Pittsburgh into 2040.
The lease formalizes an agreement reached in March.
The arena lease means the SEA will be able to close on a $325 million bond issue to finance construction. The bonds could be issued by October 2007.
The Penguins, casino developer Don Barden and the state's casino-financed development fund will pay for the bonds.
The Penguins have decided to delay the opening of the building until the start of the 2010-11 season rather than rush to have it completed for at least a portion of the 2009-10 campaign.
Spokesman Tom McMillan said yesterday the team will lose a couple of months of revenue from the new building by delaying the opening, but in the end felt it was prudent to ensure quality design and construction.
"The right thing to do is to do it the right way," he said. "The matter of a few more months will enable us to do that."
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Lower Hill: Future & Now. Mouse over image to see what it looks like today.
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" It's not Pittsburgh Hockey with out the .NET "
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