The Penguins Sidney Crosby reacts after scoring the winning goal against the Sabres' Ryan Miller in the shootout.
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
It's nice to be nice to the nice.
That's a Frank Burns line from M*A*S*H, and it fairly describes the Tuesday afternoon news conference announcing the Penguins' arena deal. Everybody thanked everybody then thanked everybody again, for good measure.
Thank you.
No, thank you.
Too bad nobody thanked the person most responsible for the fact the Penguins won't be playing in Kansas City next season and are, in fact, bound to Pittsburgh for the next 30 years.
That would be 19-year-old center Sidney Crosby.
Everything changed July 22, 2005, when the Penguins beat ridiculous odds -- they had a 6.25-percent chance of that ping-pong ball bouncing their way -- and won the draft lottery, remember?
Ticket-office phones lit up like a pinball machine. A deal to sell the team to San Jose, Calif., venture capitalist William "Boots" Del Biaggio III suddenly fell apart, presumably because Crosby's pending arrival pumped the value of the team clear through Mellon Arena's steel roof.
Crosby made the Penguins relevant again.
Crosby brought the fans back -- to the arena and to their televisions.
Mario Lemieux, Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Allegheny County chief executive Dan Onorato all made it a point to thank those fans yesterday during the news conference at the Heinz History Center.
The irate e-mail and phone calls were wonderful, Onorato said, but the real statement fans made was packing Mellon Arena -- as they did last night, when they gave Lemieux an ear-splitting ovation before the national anthem.
But, would the place be packed if Crosby hadn't come along?
Or would the Penguins be scraping the bottom of the league in attendance, as they were in 2001-02 (22nd overall), 2002-03 (25th) and 2003-04 (30th and dead last)?
Funny, but you didn't hear many people talking about Pittsburgh as a prime NHL market during those years, particularly in 2003-04, when the team played to 70 percent capacity, averaging just 11,877 fans per game.
It's more likely folks were wondering if Pittsburgh was a viable hockey market at all without Lemieux's presence as a player.
Penguins center Sidney Crosby puts the puck past Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller in the shootout to win the game for the Penguins.
If you're scoring the new arena deal, give the goal to Crosby, with plenty of assists:
• Isle of Capri's partnership with the Penguins did not land the slots license but forced Plan 'B' and led to legislation mandating that the winning the slots applicant kick in $7.5 million a year toward an arena.
• Bettman used the lockout year to create an economic and competitive climate in which stars such as Crosby and mid- to small-market teams such as the Penguins could succeed. He also blocked the sale of the club to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, reportedly because Balsillie had designs upon moving the franchise, and presided over the key meeting in arena negotiations this past Thursday in Cherry Hill, N.J.
"His work was essential," Rendell said.
• Lemieux, of course, forgave $5 million of the Penguins' debt to him and formed a group to buy the club out of bankruptcy eight years ago, when it might have been disbanded.
• Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle provided the financial backbone for Lemieux's group and was the team's chief negotiator in the arena deal.
The other major development yesterday was Lemieux's proclamation that the team won't be for sale again anytime soon.
Burkle, the mysterious Beverly Hills supermarket magnate, didn't exactly elaborate. Asked if he would take a higher profile with the team, Burkle said, oddly, "I'm in jeans. I'm going to fade away right now."
Truth is, Burkle has taken a more active role behind the scenes, even to the point of interacting with players. Not that he is ever going to be Mark Cuban, which is probably a good thing.
"The biggest thing I noticed is how he's asked guys about how we felt about certain things," Crosby said. "It means a lot to us. He really showed a lot of caring about the team. You know, if he didn't think it was a good idea to be here ... "
... the Penguins would be well on their way to Kansas City.
As for the politicians, well, there's been a long line of them involved in a process that began eight years ago. Their lollygagging drove up the arena cost by millions of dollars, but Rendell, in particular, ultimately did what needed to be done.
Thanks, guys.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
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