[bigboydan]

i thought all the sports were opposed to anything to do with gambling in any fashion. i'm suprised that the NHL would even think of allowing this to happen.

Penguins partner with gaming company that promises to build arena

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
December 21, 2005

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have partnered with a gambling company in hopes of building a new arena the team says it must have to remain here.

Under the agreement announced Wednesday, if Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. lands the license expected to be awarded next year for a Pittsburgh slots parlor, it will build a $290 million arena.


The company, which owns and operates 15 casinos and a race track, would turn the building over to the city-county agency that currently operates 44-year-old Mellon Arena. The Penguins have played in the building since 1967.

As part of Isle of Capri's proposal to acquire the slots license, Columbus-based developer Nationwide Realty Investors would develop the 50-acre site where Mellon Arena now sits with retail stores, residential properties and office buildings.

Nationwide financed Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, home to the NHL's Blue Jackets. The total cost of the project, including the arena, is estimated at about $1 billion.

The partnership represents a change of course for the Penguins, who previously planned to pursue the slots license on their own. Instead, Isle of Capri will seek the license, and the Penguins would receive only a new arena in the deal and no gaming revenues.

The Penguins' announcement comes as city and Allegheny County officials try to find a way to build a new arena without using public tax money.

Penguins owner Mario Lemieux said earlier this month there was a "slim chance" the team would stay past the 2006-07 season without the new arena he has sought since acquiring the team in 1999. Mellon Arena is the smallest and oldest currently in use in the NHL.

Isle of Capri owns and operates 15 riverboat, dockside and land-based casinos at 13 locations, most in the South, and the Pompano Park harness track in Florida.