The Penguins Big Move...?

Question

According to an announcement today, Mario is headed to Las Vegas tomorrow to discuss the possibility of relocation to that city. They already have an offer from Kansas City. Houston's Mayor has said his city will make an offer "when the time is right" (whatever that means). So, what do you think? By this time next year will the Penguins team be in:

A) Kansas City
B) Houston
C) Las Vegas

Okay all you Pennsylvanians, I guess I should have added:

D) Pittsburgh

But my gut feeling is Ed Rendell has screwed this up so badly that their days in Pittsburgh are numbered.

Answer 1

A) Kansas City - I think it's a done deal. Mario and Burkle are pissed off about the way Rendell has treated them throughout the negotiations. I think they have already made up their minds and the only logical place for them to move is Kansas City.

Answer 2

Well, you left off what is still the most likely result, which is that they will simply remain in Pittsburgh.

The negotiations now hinge on who will pay additional costs in the event of a construction cost over-run, which is an issue they will probably be able to settle.

In terms of Cities in the running, you may want to add Winnipeg to that list, There's been a lot of pressure to bring an NHL team back to that city, and there would be a large incentive to bring Sidney Crosby into Canada.

Kansas City has the best monetary short-term offer, but they barely have a city. The Kansas City Chiefs have good attendance but there's only a small number of Football games in a year and people come from all over to attend.
But The Kansas City Royals have only 17,138 fans in attendance per game. You can go to a Baseball game in KC for $8...the most expensive seats are $30. (Except special box seats)

In Pittsburgh the Cheapest seats are already $35 up to $90 and their attendance is 16,225 this year, which is still in the bottom half of the NHL. (95.6% of capacity)

So you've really got to think Kansas City can't actually support a team like this, so while the arena may be free, are you then going to have 8,000 fans a game and lose all the money that way instead?

Las Vegas could definately support a team, but Major League franchises have tended to avoid them because of the nature of the city, involvement in gambling, and because the fan base would tend to be transient, relying on tourism a lot more.

Houston is waiting until the dust settles before making an offer, but they're a real City, 2 million people.
Houston Astro's attendance last year averaged 37,300
Their NBA Team averages 16,400, which plays the same number of games and are in the same price range as the Penguins.

So there's a lot more factors than just the Stadium price itself. Selling an extra 1,000 tickets at even $35 apiece is almost 1.5million over a year, not to mention money made or lost in merchandise, TV contracts and so forth.

If I had to pick, I'd say in order of Likelihood:
Pittsburgh, Houston, Kansas City, Winnipeg, Las Vegas.

And If it Does move to KC, It moves somewhere else within a few years. It's simply not big enough and not a Hockey City.

Answer 3

Well I'm a Pens fan so I will add an optimistic D. Pittsburgh. I do believe that the impasse is serious and that they are very close to moving, but I also think Mario was finally able to light a fire under Rendell who is scrambling to get one more face to face meeting which I have heard will happen tomorrow in Philadelphia. If there is nothing done tomorrow then yes they will be gone and I would guess KC.

Answer 4

Even though the hour is very late and the prospects are dim, I still think they'll stay in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh may be a small market for other sports, but the Penguins are one of the most profitable NHL franchises that consistently draw high TV ratings and attendance. I truly think that something will be worked out to keep the team there. At the very least, I would consider Pittsburgh as likely an option as your A, B, and C.

D) Pittsburgh

Answer 5

Las Vegas will never happen their arena situation there is worse then Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.. the NBA said they will never ever hold an All star game there ever again, they said its not even worthy to house a Pro sports team....

... this is all a ploy to get the PA government back on track and to pressure them to cut a deal now.

Answer 6

What I'm more interested in is how the league will re-shuffle the conferences to make them even if the Pens move out west. Detroit coming to the Eastern Conference would be a HUGE draw to the fans out here, Columbus wouldn't be too bad, but man if we get stuck with the Blackhawks in our conference then I will slap Mario myself for causing it to happen. I, for one, hope the Pens stay right where they are. They're a developing team that's beginning to get some attention with their talent and stars and if they move west, I'll probably only get to see them play once every 3 years!

Answer 7

They are gone. This is not a ploy. Mario has had enough of the politics. Next season they will be playing in Kansas City. They have a sweet deal to play in a brand new rink. No rent and half the revenue. It doesn't matter that St. Louis is only 200 miles away. There are many other pairings that are close to each other and co-exist. Edmonton-Calgary, Toronto-Buffalo, Ottawa-Montreal, the New Yorks and NJ. LA and Anaheim.

Answer 8

D) Pittsburgh

Answer 9

B) Houston. It makes the most sense to me for some reason.

Answer 10

THEY STILL COULD BE IN PITTSBURGH!!!! I HOPE THE HELL THEY ARE!!!! IT IS JUST TYPICAL POLITICS THAT IS GOING ON. FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE THAT THINK THE PENS WON'T BE IN PITTSBURGH NEXT YEAR FANTISIZE ALL YOU WANT!!!!