The Hamilton Penguins?

A friend forwarded this article to me, knowing that I would be very interested in the subject. Being someone who was born in the city in question (Hamilton, Ont) I have long taken an interest in the city getting a chance to host an NHL team.

I think that a Hamilton team competing against teams like Toronto and Buffalo would create new rivalries and and with the new CBA, this market would thrive and be one of the more successful teams in the NHL… unlike Pittsburth, who continue to lose money to the point where Mario had to dump the team. I would love to see the Pens move north of the border, but as excited as I am… I’m taking a “I’ll believe it when I see it” opinion since I’ve been burned too much by the NHL with regards to my hometown. A lot of people in Canada are excited about this, as many are sure the guy who bought the Pens will move the team if the state doesn’t approve a new arena. At the moment, it doesn’t look good for Pittsburgh and the new onwer will move the team before staying in the Igloo.

With over 7.5 million people in the southern Ontario region that surrounds Hamilton and Toronto. That’s more than enough people to support two NHL teams, especially since Leaf tickets are extremely hard to come by. I would love to watch a Pens game in Copps and know that many friends and family still in Hamilton would by season tickets in a heartbeat. This would be a good move for the league cause Pittsburgh has been a failing franchise for a while, despite having a decent team… and another team in Canada would be a good thing as well.

The Hamilton Penguins… has a nice ring to it, eh?

Peter

Pens move faces obstacles

By Scott Radley

If nothing else, reports out of Pittsburgh last night that Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie was about to buy the Penguins certainly got the attention of folks in Hamilton.

After all, he’s the guy rumoured to be holding exclusive NHL rights to Copps Coliseum. More importantly, he’s the guy rumoured to be wanting to put a team in it.

So news of his acquisition — assuming the deal doesn’t fall apart at the 11th hour — surely had more than a few people crunching numbers into the wee hours of the morning to see if they could afford seasons tickets someday soon.

But should they have simply gone to bed?

In other words, is Hamilton really any closer to finally realizing its longstanding NHL dream after all these years or is this going to end the way every other bolt of hope died?

Common sense would say it’s the latter. Every report out of Pittsburgh last night cited sources insisting Balsillie’s intentions were to leave the team in Pennsylvania and that any thought of moving it here had been abandoned.

Then again, until recently he also denied being interested in buying the team.

Which is why there are those who think his apparent disinterest in Steeltown is nothing more than the first move in what could soon shape up to be an intriguing tale of behind-the-scenes strategizing and chess playing.

Here’s why. The NHL has made itself pretty clear that it doesn’t want the franchise to move.

And since the league’s board of governors must approve any sale, Balsillie would have to pack up and come here over the protestations of Commissioner Gary Bettman. Meaning, if there was a belief the Pens were being purchased just to be moved, the commissioner might pressure the governors to veto the deal.

So, the conspiracy theorists say Balsillie simply leaves the team in Pittsburgh for awhile. Then he makes his move to Copps.

Which would be available. A group — long-rumoured to involve him but never proven — has given the city $50,000 for a six-month window in which it has exclusive rights to put an NHL team in Copps if it can acquire a franchise.

That deal expires in February but has a built-in option to renew for another six months.

So far, so fascinating. But this is where things get really complicated.

Any move to Hamilton would plop the team right in the middle of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s fiefdom. Barring a historic change of heart, it wouldn’t want any part of another team on its turf, which would make getting around territorial rights neither easy, nor an inexpensive, problem to overcome.

“I don’t think people understand how powerful the Leaf organization is in the NHL and they would squawk at that,” says Hamilton Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer.

Then there’s the arena. Copps is an old building by NHL standards. In fact, it’d immediately be one of the oldest in the league.

There aren’t nearly enough private boxes, concessions would have to be vastly enlarged and improved, seating would have to be repaired, and large-scale infrastructure changes would have to be done.

That would all come with a huge price tag.

In fact, local businessman Ron Foxcroft, who’s long been involved in local sports franchises, says moving a team here would likely require something close to a $300-million investment on top of the reported $175-million purchase price.

He estimates it would take $100 million to get the rink up to standards, $100 million to cover indemnification fees to the Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres, $15 million in moving fees, another $40 million in startup and staffing costs and a $45-million payroll.

“That’s a damn good business guess,” he says.

While he says Balsillie — who he calls a good friend but with whom he’s never discussed any Penguins-related plans or thoughts — is one of the few people who might have the business acumen to pull it off, Foxcroft says it wouldn’t happen without a willingness to accept annual losses in the $20-million range “for many years.”

Andlauer points out that someone who’s shown the smarts to become as financially successful as Balsillie would probably be unlikely to suddenly abandon all that common sense to take that kind of cash hit.

So what does it all mean? Best bet is to ask again in February.

The tip-off about this city’s real NHL future is going to come then. If the Copps exclusivity rights are re-upped for another six months, you’ll know there’s still interest. If not?

Well, just think of the money you saved on those seasons tickets.

Reprinted from The Hamilton Spectator