NHL Penguins to explore relocation

[cdl42]

NHL Signs Broadcast Deal With Food Network

March 8, 2007 | Onion Sports

NEW YORKâ€â€Flanked by Food Network president Brooke Johnson and cooking-show host Rachael Ray, Commissioner Gary Bettman announced yesterday that the NHL has opted out of its contract with the Versus cable channel (formerly the Outdoor Life Network) and has reached a long-term broadcasting deal with the Food Network starting in the 2007-08 season.


"In all my years as commissioner, I have learned that our diverse group of fans and players all enjoy food of some sort. Italian, French, barbecue, quick-and-easy 30-minute mealsâ€â€you name it, one or more of them eat it," said Bettman, adding that Iron Chef French host Hiroyuki Sakai will join play-by-play announcer Mike "Doc" Emrick and analyst Brian Engblom to form a new lead announcing team for all Food Network games. "This partnership has been a long time coming. If the Food Network would have been around in 1991, we would have left ESPN in a heartbeat."

“It’s great to know we will be on television next year,†Bettman added, smiling as the NHL’s new studio team, consisting of Rachael Ray as head hockey anchor and Bill Clement as game analyst, collaborated in an attempt to equate the offsides penalty to “zesting up†a pan-seared T-bone steak. “Thanks, Food Network.â€Â

Though Bettman maintained that the Food Network was always the league's first choice, sources close to the commissioner confirmed that the NHL also considered broadcasting games on E!, the Golf Channel, and Cartoon Network before eventually deciding to go with the network offering the best combination of financial incentives and airtime.

"We also thought the lead-in programs on Versus, especially those that focused on bull-riding, bass fishing, and violent contact sports, were not entirely compatible with the image of the league," Bettman said. "Now, hockey games will follow Emeril Live, Feasting On Asphalt, and The Hungry Detective, which, as you can plainly see, are a better fit. Also, we are paying the Food Network much less money to broadcast our games."

According to terms of the deal, the Food Network will schedule broadcasts of over 50 full-length hockey games and will carry both the Eastern and Western Conference Semi-Finals, as well as Games 4 through 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The only exception, Bettman said, would be made for Rachael Ray, who appears on television roughly three times more than the NHL. In the case of Ray experiencing a scheduling conflict, hockey games will be postponed and rescheduled at Ray's convenience.

"We liked the idea of having hockey because it has two halftimes," said Food Network president Johnson, adding that the first game on the channel will feature the ceremonial dropping of an inaugural homemade Italian meatball at center ice by honorary referee Mario Batali. "Our debut coverage will include a halftime show hosted by Giada De Laurentiis, who will recap the game's events while guiding you through the preparation of Sicilian penne with swordfish and eggplant. Or, if you are in the mood for something more immediate, on-ice reporter Paula Deen will spend timeouts showing you certain tactics to enhance the flavor of your traditional southwestern dip."

Though she stated that she didn't want to give anything away, Johnson said that the network's first hockey-related profile will focus on Sidney Crosby eating veal and creamed spinach prepared by Roker On The Road host Al Roker. Other hockey players now contractually obligated to make appearances on shows include Chris Drury on Food 911, Martin Brodeur on Calorie Commando, and Alexander Ovechkin on Dinner: Impossible.

The new broadcasting deal has some sportswriters saying the move will make hockey even more irrelevant, while others believe this is a clear step up for the league.

"I watch the Food Network far more than I watch hockey, and I think most sports fans feel the same way," said Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan. "My favorite program is Food Nation With Bobby Flay. So I'll definitely watch that, and then maybe stick around to watch part of a period if the Bruins are playing. Everybody wins here."

 

[spmarshall]

Brilliant! Thanks for posting that.

 

[unimaginative2]

Penguins will remain in Pittsburgh
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins reached a financing deal for a new arena that will keep the NHL team in the city where it has played since 1967.

Gov. Ed Rendell announced the agreement Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Gaming Congress. He said money from the state's new slot machine parlours would help fund the arena.

Rendell said he would fly to Pittsburgh later in the day to meet with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, the team owners and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

"We will announce that all three governmental entities have reached an agreement for a deal that will keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh" for 30 years, he said.

The Penguins had threatened to leave Pittsburgh if they couldn't secure a new rink. Their lease at 46-year-old Mellon Arena, the oldest facility in the league, expires June 30 and the team is free to leave after that.

Team officials visited Kansas City, Mo., and Las Vegas to discuss a possible move. The Penguins were offered free rent and half of all revenues if they agreed to play in Kansas City's soon-to-be-completed US$262 million Sprint Center.

The Penguins won Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992. Their home attendance and local TV ratings are among the strongest of the NHL's 24 U.S. franchises.

Kevin Evanto, a spokesman for Onorato, declined to discuss the deal. Spokesmen for the mayor and the Penguins did not immediately return calls.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the arena would be completed by the start of the 2009-10 season. The Penguins would pay $3.8 million a year for construction and $400,000 annually for unspecified capital improvements, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

The Penguins have sought a new arena for years. Last year, the team announced a deal with Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. that called for the company to build a $290 million arena at no cost to the team or taxpayers if the gambling firm got a state license to operate a slots casino in the city.

But the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in December awarded the license to Detroit casino magnate Don Barden, and the Penguins were forced to negotiate with government officials for a new arena.

 

[wyliepoon]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Link to article

Penguins have had designs on new arena for a number of weeks
Team has been working quietly with architect involved with building PNC Park and Heinz Field

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

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By Robert Dvorchak
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While the Penguins declared publicly that they were aggressively pursuing all options in other cities for a new arena, they were working behind the scenes with HOK Sports Inc. for the past six weeks on moving ahead with the design of the one that will be built here.

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"Quietly, I might add," said team president Ken Sawyer.

The Penguins have not yet officially retained HOK, the nationally renowned firm that was the architect for PNC Park and Heinz Field, but they have been working with HOK for the past 61/2 years while arena talks were ongoing.

In 2001, HOK did an $80,000 study, paid for by the team, which determined that it would be more feasible to build a new building than to refurbish Mellon Arena. It is unclear what the time frame will be for selecting a project architect, but the Penguins want to begin work as quickly as possible.

There are artist renderings of what the new arena will look like from the outside. And after years of labor pains in acquiring funding, everyone wants to know what the baby will look like inside and outside.

What is known is that an 18,000-seat arena will be built slightly to the south of Mellon Arena in a footprint bordered by Centre Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Washington Place. Epiphany Church, one of several historic buildings in the grid, would not be affected but other buildings could be.

The new arena will have two entrances to a common concourse, and there will be improved sight lines for ticket-holders, more open spaces and open views that will allow fans to keep in touch with the action if they leave their seats to visit concession stands.

Meanwhile, the 28-acre site around Mellon Arena is planned for urban development.

Under the term sheet signed yesterday, the Penguins will receive a $15 million incentive from the city and county to develop the site over the next 10 years.

In the past several years, plans have been discussed about revitalizing the Fifth Avenue corridor to create shops and office buildings.

Development would also reconnect the Hill District to Downtown, and city and county officials will speak with neighborhood leaders this morning about their input on celebrating and recapturing the culture of the neighborhood.

"What we're talking about here is actually rebuilding a part of the city," said Don Carter, president of Urban Design Associates, which has been working with the Penguins.

"It's an opportunity to rebuild a piece of the city that kind of went away."

Mr. Carter has called the 28 acres one of the greatest development sites in the United States because it is near public transportation and adjacent to Downtown.

Some proposals for the site include rental housing, single-family homes, shops, a hotel, restaurants, parking garages and one or two city parks.

County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said development would be based on work being done between PNC Park and Heinz Field because planners learned their lessons from Three Rivers Stadium, where development never occurred.