"Let me reach out to Mario," Onorato said. "I know he's frustrated, saying he's waited [for politicians to get things done] for seven years. But I've only been county executive for three years, and Mayor Ravenstahl's only been here for several months. The mayor and I are going to make it clear we intend to remove the uncertainty."
"The sooner the Penguins are willing to sit down," the mayor said, "the sooner the uncertainty will go away."
There's no doubt in my mind this will get done," said mayor Luke Ravenstahl. "If they are as committed as we are, the Penguins should never leave Pittsburgh."
The Penguins are regularly drawing large crowds, and sales of merchandise (thanks to stars Crosby and Malkin)are brisk.
There is a large, faithful fan base supporting the Pens that is growing thanks to the appeal of the core of young players.
Mario has lived in Pittsburgh for a long time, and his kids are growing up and going to school there.
He'll do everything he can to keep the team in Pittsburgh.
But now how will the new stadium be built? If that question can't be answered, Mario might as well sell the team to Kansas City and make some $$$ out of it.
Yes, they are selling lots of tickets this year and last because of Crosby, but they have run deeply in the red for a number of years prior, including no playoff revenues for eons.
I really doubt that Mario will be willing to foot the bill for an arena so the Pittsburgh pols can keep collecting their cut of taxes. He owes them zip and zip is what they are going to get after June IMO.
I'm going to be really sorry to see them leave. I've been hooked since Mario came to town, but there are no more deep pocket owners around to buy the team and keep it here because they want it to stay. Without Mario, it would have been gone long ago.