Breaking News: Sidney Crosby Assassinated on Ice at Consol Arena

In an unfortunate end to a promising career, Penguin's Captain Sidney Crosby was assassinated on the ice at Consol Arena by a mob of angry teammates.

Crosby, who had been planning his return to the ice following a long recovery from a concussion, was approached by a group of his teammates led by defenseman Deryk Engelland as he walked into the arena for a scheduled group skate.

Tempers flared as Engelland pressed Crosby not to return to play for the good of the team. As Crosby moved to adjust his equipment, he was stabbed in the back with a sharpened hockey stick, at first by Engelland and then by the cohort of conspirators. The final blow was laid by Crosby's own mentee, James Neal.

Sidney Crosby's reported last words were "You too, eh? The down goes The Kid."

Center Evgeni Malkin, who was delayed from coming to the skate by other members of the conspiracy, did not arrive on the ice until after Crosby was already dead.

Reports indicate that Crosby had been forewarned of the assassination attempt several days previously by a fan camped out in front of the arena, who was shouting at him to "Beware the 15th of March, n'at."

The conspirators later took to FoxSports Pittsburgh to explain that they murdered Crosby to prevent him from being a drag on the team, to free up money to hire new players, and to prevent him from declaring himself "Team Captain For Life".

The conspirators are expected to face a game misconduct each, and will be fined by league Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Malkin, for his part, hopes to persuade the NHL and fans that a more severe punishment should be meeted out. He hopes that friends, owners, and countrymen will lend him their ears tonight on ESPN2, where he hopes to defend Crosby's legacy.

More as this story develops.

Breaking(ish) News: Lemieux, Penguins co-owner offer to buy Pirates

From the P-G:

Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, co-owners of the Penguins, recently made an unsolicited offer to buy the Pirates in a face-to-face meeting with that team's owner, Bob Nutting, but the offer did not receive a response.

Sources on the Penguins' side last night described the offer made by Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle as "very serious," without divulging a dollar figure, and said they remain interested in following up...

The reasons Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle would want to buy the Pirates will not be clear until they speak to that, though that is not expected soon, if at all.

One possibility, according to a source, is that a joint ownership of the Penguins and Pirates could create a business "synergy" that would allow one to pick up the other in tough times, and vice versa. It would help, the source added, that the NHL and MLB seasons have little overlap and that the teams currently have the same local television rights-holder in FSN Pittsburgh...

I have my own theory: the Penguins are trying to provide job opportunities for Hill District residents as party of the agreed upon CBA. Hiring someone from the Hill to play third base would probably net you at least equal quality as what they have now.

If that were true and if I were a Hill Resident, I'd be insulted. I mean, the CBA calls for "quality" jobs, not 3rd rate, minor league jobs.

Therrien Blames Lack of Banners for Penguins Losses

Penguins head coach Michel Therrien unleashed an expletive filled tirade towards the Mayor of Pittsburgh and City Council blaming them both for the team's back-to-back losses to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals.  

"Where are the fucking banners already?  How do they expect us to win without over-sized giant fucking banners?" 

Mr. Therrien launched the invective shortly before the team's pre-game warm-up practice at Mellon Arena in front of members of the local media.  

"If those motherfuckers down on Grant Street don't get their fucking merde together, this fucking team is going to lose in four games."

Council members and the Mayor's Office have been at odds following a moratorium on outdoor advertising in the wake of the Grant Street Transportation/Lamar Advertising fiasco. 

Representatives of the Mayor's Office blame Council President Doug Shields for the current situation, calling his ongoing work "obstructionist."  Mr. Shields has blamed the Mayor's Office for jinxing the Pens. 

"I mean, seriously, do you really think that these loses are because the team can't defend the blue line, or capitalize on Power Play opportunities?" said Mr. Shields in an email. "No, it's because the Mayor won't let them put up their fucking banners."  Councilwoman Tonya Payne, who represents the 6th Council District, was not available for comment. 

Therrien remains frustrated. 

"These playoffs aren't about who scores the most points or which team comes out on top, it's about the ability of a city to put up giant banners advertising their local teams.  If we can't do that, the Red Wings have already won."     

Business Casual Friday - Stanley Cup Preview Edition

Just a little something that combines the Penguins, John Williams, and the non-CGI portions of George Lucas:

Episode VI: The Penguins Return (Crawl)



The digitally remastered version will enhance Gary Robert's scariness.

Mayor Seeks Guidance on Attending Stanley Cup Games

Saw this in the P-G this afternoon:

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wants to attend the Stanley Cup Finals, but isn't yet sure how that can happen.

"I'd like to go," he said of the Saturday night face-off between the Penguins and the Red Wings, in Detroit. "I have asked [the city Law Department] for guidance" on whether he should pay for tickets, travel and lodging out of personal funds, campaign money or otherwise.

He has ruled out the use of any public money on what, arguably, could be called official business...

The correct answer is: Buffalo Blues* in Shadyside with 200-300 of your fellow yinzers. As "way cool" as it may be to go up to Detroit, it would certainly be a whole heck of a lot more populist of Luke to sit elbow to elbow with guys discussing the intricacies of the hooking calls and calling for another "Ahrn".

---
* Any sports bar (or any other bar for that matter) in Pittsburgh will do. I just don't want to catch him stealing my seat.

Philadelphia Mayor Nutter Loses Bet

(Reuters) Philadelphia - Fresh on the rout of the Flyers by the Penguins, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wasted no time on making good on his bet with Philadephia Mayor Nutter by sending the entire Pittsburgh Pirate roster to the City of Brotherly Love.

Bets between municipal chief executives are not uncommon during high profile games, however, this NHL Eastern Conference finals was of greater importance because it was between the two largest cities in the Commonwealth.

Confident in his home team, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl used this opportunity to up the stakes with his cross state rival.

"We thought it would be a basket of ketchup or Primanti sandwiches versus a basket of Cheesestakes or something," said Mayor Nutter's spokesperson Douglas Oliver. "We were shocked when Mr. Ravenstahl put up the Pirates. We asked 'what would you get?' He said, 'We get rid of the Pirates.'"

Within minutes of the Penguins' shut-out, and even before the Prince of Wales trophy was presented, the entire Pirates roster was put in shipping containers and placed on a non-stop flight to Philadelphia.

Mr. Ravenstahl was proud of the move.

"It took bold, decisive leadership, but by the time Nutter realizes what's hit him, the Philadelphia Pirates will already be last in the National League."

Mayor Nutter has different plans for his new found team.

"I figure for awhile, we can use them to direct traffic or something. Eventually I hope to trade them to Des Moines for a half a packet of Lucky Strikes and a porno mag."

Community Benefits Agreement

By now, everyone has heard that the One Hill group has officially signed on to a community benefits agreement with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the City and the County. Among the items that were agreed upon were:

• Provide $2 million, including $1 million from the Penguins, to finance a grocery store or other economic "anchor."

• Create a Neighborhood Partnership Program, giving businesses state tax credits for contributing to neighborhood development projects. Coalition officials said the program could draw $6 million over 12 years.

• Give Hill District residents preference for arena-related jobs and commit the parties to the creation of family-sustaining jobs, with health benefits, in the 28-acre Mellon Arena redevelopment zone.

• Establish a career center, partly funded for two years by the city and county, and require government officials to help the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh develop a multipurpose center for youths, families and seniors.

• Require the city and county to fund a master plan for Hill development.

Like many of these types of deals, however, there were many items that were left, as it were, on the cutting room floor. Among these items were:

• Mario Lemieux must buy a fried chicken franchise on Webster Avenue, and offer free chicken every time Sidney Crosby scores.

• The Penguins must publish a pamphlet on famous black hockey players.

• The One Hill coalition will provide one first round draft pick.

• Tonya Payne will shave off her playoff beard.

• Luke Ravenstahl will receive a four minute major for game misconduct.

• One Hill Chair Carl Redwood will suit up as mascot "Iceberg" for 20 games a year.

• Ron Burkle will ghost write an 11th play for the August Wilson cycle, regarding the tribulations of cross checking in the black community.

• Dan Onorato will continue to suck up to the unions as part of his quest for the Governorship (Ed. Note - This was added back in at the last minute).

• SEA Executive Director Mary Contoro gets one free punch at anyone, any time.

• In addition to a Save-a-Lot grocery store, the Hill will receive a Kings Family Restaurant.

• Hill Leadership will stop taking credit for the work of their predecessors.

• The City has to explain what exactly the Stadium Authority does.

• Everyone will agree that "half-a-loaf" is better than "no-loaf at all."

No word, however, if people that opposed the agreement now will be allowed to claim credit for any success in the future.

Mayor's Office Scenario II

So, I went back and thought again about my assertion that the Mayor's Office is methodically and actively trying to appear more competent than it really is by restricting the flow of information. I still think that analysis holds water, but I've come up with a different, competing theory that would also explain the, seemingly, irrational behavior we're seeing at 414 Grant Street.

[I must say that this all came to me the other night, as I was talking about economic development with a very bright colleague and former schoolmate, in a way that one of those "Magic Eye" pictures resolve themselves suddenly into a boat.]

Let's start with a few axioms here that I've kind of hinted at elsewhere on this site:

(1) All politicians want to be re-elected.
(2) Luke only has a two year term before he has to face the voters again.
(3) There are only certain things in his purview (land use policy being the most obvious example) that the Mayor can have swift, decisive control over.

With those axioms in mind, it becomes readily apparent why the Mayor's Office seems to be not only controlling information, but trying to push things ahead fast (e.g. Casino and Arena) and trying to circumvent the normal, established procedures.

Simply put: the Mayor needs to have a whole bunch of "wins" under his belt before he faces the voters again in 2009. It doesn't really matter if the policies or programs are *good* or *bad* just that they are *done*, and can be used as evidence that Luke is a "can do, take charge kinda guy."

The quote by the Mayor in the Trib about the appeal to Commonwealth Court by One Hill regarding the Arena (h/t Bram) is very telling:

"I think it's unfortunate, and I don't necessarily think it's productive," Ravenstahl said. "I'm not sure what they feel their actions will achieve. To me it was something that wasn't necessary. I think the planning commission acted appropriately, and I believe the court will find the same."

If you read carefully, you'll see he's not talking about the effectiveness of the plan, but rather the efficiency in getting the plan in place.

The problem, of course, is that good policy rarely comes out of such a narrow view. Good policy directions for the City will have to be broad and far reaching, lasting over the course of many Mayoral administrations. The short term, narrow goal of re-election is not going to result in good policy decisions... which is bad news for the residents of the City.

[Personally, I think that the new agreement with City Council is just a preemptive move by the Mayor to define objectives, thereby narrowing the scope of what a "win" means.]

So, while I still think that the Mayor's office is trying to hide everything, I will also concede that there is an interest in trying to ram policy forward before the next election.

One does not necessarily preclude the other.

Penguins Unveil Plans for Mellon Arena Site

The Penguins last night revealed the preliminary plans for the Mellon Arena, which is to be replaced by a new arena to be built between Centre and Fifth avenues, Uptown.

The plans were shown at a public meeting attended by about 150 people, including Hill District residents and others interested in the future of the former Civic Arena site.

A Request for Proposals was released in May of this year to several design agencies, architecture firms and demolition companies to come up with proposed plans for the site.

Hundreds of responses were received by the Penguins, who narrowed the field down a handful of eligible submissions. Many of the submissions were duplicative, focusing on rubble, smoking craters, an large amounts of dynamite.

Two of the top five submissions came from graduate students at Carnegie-Mellon University:

Students from the School of Architecture proposed converting the retractable dome arena into a MagLev station for the heretofore still prosed MegLev line from the Pittsburgh AirPort to Greenburg.

Taking a slightly different tack, students from the Engineering College suggested "nuking it from orbit," adding, "it was the only way to be sure."

A consortium of artists funded by the Sprout Fund advocated a neighborhood fair in which the community would remove small pieces of the arena until it disappeared. The function would also include interpretive dance and levitating tables.

A group led by former City Councilman Sala Udin proposed selling the arena to Cleveland.

However, the panel of judges was most impressed by a submission from the Other One Hill Concerned Citizens Council Corporation who proposed leaving the Mellon Area vacant, demolishing a part of it, abandoning it by the City, letting the rest go tax delinquent, and finally letting it rot to a point where it becomes a haven for crime, drugs, and other vermin.

Speaking for the Penguins, Patrick Lempka, lead architect for the project, said that the OOHCCC proposal best represented both "the history of the Hill and fit in with the narrative and rhythm of the Neighborhood."

In a related development, 15 Hill residents who represent the Other Other One Hill Very Concerned Citizens Council Corporation, Inc. presented a list of demands to County Executive Dan Onorato insisting that any demolition to take place would happen without destroying any structures and with a 20% cut to the OOOHVCCC, Inc.

The County Executive Office did not return phone calls for this article.

Green Casinos & Arenas

Both the P-G and the Trib ran 500 word articles today about Pittsburgh High Schoolers and their petition to Dan Onorato, Luke Ravenstahl, et al. to make the new arena and casino "Green." I'll sample from the P-G article, because it is the shorter of the two.

Local high school students presented a petition today to city and county officials asking them to ensure that the new Penguins arena and the planned North Shore casino are constructed as green buildings.

Students for a Greener Pittsburgh, a project started by two students, collected 700 signatures supporting the initiative requesting the facilities be LEED-certified.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Terrific work there Mr. Pulitzer. There's an award in there somewhere for you. Glad to see that the P-G is cutting back on all that wasteful "electronic ink"; the cost of that stuff can run into the fractions of cents. I hope someone on staff puts at least as much work into tomorrow's follow up article as I'm putting in here.*

Now, I back when I was young and idealistic, before I was thrown to the ground of reality, beaten with the bat of rationality, and kicked in the groin of no-nonsensicalness, this petition would have been something that I would have done. I would have probably been the first person in line to sign something like this. Now that I am older and more bitter, I can see past the Pollyanna-ish naivete.

Don't get me wrong: I am full in support of Green Building, Sustainable Design, yadda-yadda-yadda, but the petition route smacks of political novices. No one listens to petitions any more than they listen to people yammer on at City Council.**

Instead, these students should be focusing not on the happy, squishy, "save-a-whale," sort-your-plastics-and-glass, green concept, but the cold, hard, dollar and cents "green" concept.

That's right kids: money. Petitions will get you nowhere; money opens doors.

Try showing Don Barden that, by improving his indoor air circulation, his employees will take fewer sick days, and, in the long run, he'll save money. Tell Mario and the SEA that by recycling "gray" water in the urinals and installing high efficiency fixtures, they'll save bundles on operations. Prove to Governor Rendell that the use of "Green" technologies in these projects will be a economic development niche for Western PA, strengthening the economy, and helping to generate exportable goods, services, and technologies. Stop frittering your life away on damned socially aware political science and go get yourself degrees in Environmental Engineering and Economics!***

So, take it from an old curmudgeon, kids: don't hit 'em in their hearts where it's soft, hit 'em in their wallets where it hurts.

Here endeth the Civics lesson for today.

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* And that ain't much, I can tell you.
** City Council, by the way, is going to hell for the Iraq War, for some reason.
*** And get a hair cut! And stay off my damned lawn!

Shave off the Beard Luke!

OK Luke: break out the razor, the playoff beard can come off.

So sad, but at least the Pens got a new arena, right? RIGHT?

Tag(s): Pittsburgh Penguins

Arena (Site) Development

We're living in an information age where news now becomes "old" within hours. Indeed, the Oh-my-God-the-Penguins-are-staying story has, in my opinion, pretty much played itself out, and we've now moved on to the sobering realization that the development of the new Arena is going to have some significant impacts for the City.

Well, OK, I've moved on, but that's only because I don't really care all that much for hockey.

But let's start off with a major concession against my own intellectual pursuits: for all of its faults and short comings, the deal is the deal; I'm not going to go into a deep analysis of what should or should not have happened and whether this is a good deal or not... at least not yet. Indeed, there are some big public finance issues (SEA bonds) and some question of the supposed populism of the project (how many Pens fans actually live within the City proper?). I'm going to set those aside so that we can focus instead on what is to come.

With that said, let me continue moving on: the development of the Arena site is going to be one of the biggest changes to the Hill District since the Crawford Square development in the 90s. While there will be only (relatively) minor site clearance for the Arena proper, certainly not on the same scale as the original construction of the Civic Arena, there will be significant development opportunities for the old arena site.

Big question: who decides what goes there?

I realize, of course, that this is looking down the road a bit as the Penguins aren't scheduled to occupy the new Arena until the 2009 season. However, in terms of real estate development, this is barely enough time to anything substantial, let alone plan something in a "culturally sensitive area."

Lord knows that with all the history to the site, including the failed redevelopment experiment, many people are going to want to have their say as to what eventually happens to the Lower Hill... and I'll bet anyone a million gazillion dollars that you're not going to have a consensus on what that is.

So who exactly is to say which groups do or do not have standing in this process and which groups would need to be satisfied to declare a "consensus" has been reached? Should it be the residents of the neighborhood(s)? The businesses in the neighborhood(s)? The residents of the City or the County? Self appointed arbiters of history and culture? Schizophrenic State legislators? Churches? City Council Persons? Community Development Organizations? Outside development organizations? Don Barden? The local Government? Mario?

Do any of these groups have the capacity and knowledge necessary to meet the needs of the Community (however you want to define that word)? And, if so, can they do it without descending into a community development clusterfuck?

Indeed, I think that it's interesting that the first major discussion about the future development of the Lower Hill site occurred between the members of the local clergy, community leaders, and the County Executive... and not community leaders and the Mayor. One can only speculate, by the way, why the Mayor didn't personally show up, or what signal that sends to community residents. If nothing else, it seems to indicate that Onorato will be arbitrating whatever fight is sure to transpire and that the City has, basically, given up control of that part of the Hill to the County

Anyway, my prediction is that the development of the Mellon Arena site will be less than smooth, fraught with public fights, political posturing, yelling, some blood, and very little real development.

What's the old saying about cooks and soup? I'm assuming that it applies to publicly funded sports venues too.

Tag(s): Arena

Arena Number Crunching

Fester started some work on this, and as they don't let people like us look at the nitty-gritty details on Arena financing, we'll have to make due with what the P-G tells us:

The team will no longer have to pay $8.5 million up front. Instead, the state will pay $10.5 million from public development funds.

In addition, the team will only have to commit $2.2 million of its own in annual lease payments, a reduction, but will have to make up the difference by seeking $2 million in naming rights, an increase.

Mr. Rendell said public officials agreed with the team that the previous $270 million construction cost estimate might be too low, and the funding calculations were increased to consider a $290 million pricetag.

The team and the state will split the costs of any increase in construction cost between $290 million and $310 million. The team will cover any cost overrun above $310 million.

The governor said Kansas City had offered a great deal to the team. But what "tipped the balance" toward Pittsburgh was the strong support of the local fans.

And once again, Mr. Rendell said the deal could not have been done without the revenue expected from new slots casinos...

He said the Penguins have been offered a $15 million credit as incentive to spur development around the arena, rather than leaving it as parking. He said officials have set a goal of developing 2.8 acres a year, with the whole area developed in 10 years.

Additionally, PITG (the Don Barden's casino group) will chip in $7.5 million/year over thirty years and the State will match that.

Assuming an interest rate of 5.25% (which also assumes government bonds/municipal insured bonds), we come out with the following values:

Public Development Funds (one time): $10,500,000
Penguins Lease: $32,876,581
Naming rights: $29,887,801
PITG: $112,079,254
State Slots Revenue: $112,079,254
Total: $297,422,891

So, just back of the envelope calculations there, but the deal comes in over the $290M price tag.

HOWEVER, a couple of questions left unanswered:
1) Is Mario's purchase of the former St. Francis Hospital included in the Pen's "credit" even though it is a sunk cost?
2) How are the "development rights" for the Mellon Arena Site to be handled?
3) Are these municipal bonds? State bonds? SEA bonds? If it is the first or last, is it fair to say that "no local money" is being used if it eats into the City's debt?
4) How is the Arena going to support itself over the long run?
5) Where will the cost overrun money come from, really?
6) Is this a wise use of taxpayer ("local" being irrelevant to the conversation) money?
7) What, exactly, do you have to have as an existence value to get the NPV of the project to be positive? A zillion-bagillion dollars?

Most importantly, does the good of a small, vocal minority outweigh the good of the region?

Or is that blasphemy?

More to come, I'm sure...

Tag(s): Arena, Pittsburgh Penguins

BREAKING NEWS: Moses Invests in Penguins

Jewish prophet promises "arena flowing with Milk and Honey" following 40 years of wandering through last place.


More Details Inside:

• Five players die as new owner parts training rink (Page 2);
  
• All Friday night/Saturday games cancelled (Page 4);
  
• Ten new rules of conduct issued; back checking to be punished with "stoning" (Page 7);
  
• Minor arboreal fire reported at Crawford Street and Wylie Avenue (Page 10);
  
• Local Blogger carries running gag to groan inducing, predictable and ludicrous conclusions (Page 1138).

Tag(s): Pittsburgh Penguins

BREAKING NEWS: Jesus Saves Penguins

New Jersey Devils thrown to the fires of Gehenna. Miroslav Satan condemned to icey 9th circle of hell to chew Judas, Casius and Brutus for all eternity.


Frozen afterlife considered to be an advantage during playoffs.

Tag(s): Pittsburgh Penguins

BREAKING NEWS: Rendell Saves Pens

Resolution on Pencils, Crayons expected imminently. Markers to remain indefinitely consigned to servitude.


Rendell signing statement freeing pens with pen, later freed.


Other emancipated pens.

Tag(s): Pens

On Ice

I will not be modest here: I am a master of prosaic bureaucratic prose. With a quick turn of phrase, I can drive the recipient of one of my letters to the depths of despair or to the heights of ecstasy.

OK, maybe not the "heights" of ecstasy. Maybe twice the height of "Meh". But the "depths of despair" bit is true, as this is The Bureaucracy and with our dark gray suits, bad comb overs, and absent senses of humor, we do despair very well.

But anyway, there's a skill involved in calling a letter recipient an asshole, without calling him/her an "asshole." Besides, it's much more satisfying to say that "your lack of collaboration with our organization has led us to believe that you put your needs above the needs of the public."

Which is why Mario's letter to Rendell, Onorato et ux. is so much fun to read: it is a very polite throwdown.

When Mario says, "The risk has been magnified by what we perceive as a lack of collaboration from the public sector in the negotiations. That does not bode well for the public/private partnership necessary to successfully navigate the multiple issues of an arena development of this magnitude," he's really saying "you guys are jerks for not giving us what we want."

Words like "seem," "appear," or "it can be perceived that" can all be substituted for "are". It is much nicer to say "One may perceive you to be a jerk," over "You are a jerk," even though they mean the same thing.

At least, they appear to be the same.

Anyway, those kinds of words are hedge words; Mario seems to be bluffing: for whatever reason, he's interested in keeping the Pens in Pittsburgh. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have been negotiating for all these months, he would have moved to Kansas City.

He wants to see if he's squeezed out every last dime he can from the deal; for whatever reason, he believes that there is a bit more money to be had, a better interest rate, or some more development rights that can be had for free.

Even though he's flirting with Las Vegas and Kansas City, I think the Governor thinks Mario's bluffing too... at least it appears that way. Unfortunately, there's no betting in hockey.

Or is that baseball? And crying?

Tag(s): Pittsburgh Penguins

Shining City on the Hill

For some time now, I've been meaning to comment on this post over at Mike Madison's place regarding this little blurb in the P-G last Sunday. Unfortunately, that little thing I do between blogging (read: "everything") got in the way of actually being able to sit down and cobble together a coherent post.

I did manage to cobble together several incoherent posts, which I left over at Little Green Footballs and Free Republic, figuring no one would know the difference anyway.

Anyway, in my next life I would certainly love to add some physical structure or concrete development to the City of Pittsburgh, but in this life I have resigned myself to pushing little bits of paper across my desk and adding up numbers that never return the result I want. In short, I'm no architect nor do I claim to be one. I do, however, have some comments on Mr. Pfaffman's proposed plan:

(1) First, let me say that I like the plan. It is an interesting and innovative use of what would otherwise be a parking lot or a low-rise apartment building.

(2) However, having been to more public hearings than I care to remember, I can safely say that "a plan" means nothing. A plan is barely worth more than the ink and paper its written on. Custer had a plan, for the love of Pete! I've watched very slick people try to convince whole neighborhoods to follow their lead because they have "a plan" only to watch them crash and burn. I don't trust "plans."

(3) Still, a "plan" in this sense is an opening volley on what is sure to be a heated battle between people with more political aspirations than brains. Mr. Pfaffman has already begun to frame the discussion in one direction, so good for him.

(4) Architectural plans, specifically the ones made by architects, in my experience are either too expensive or don't work. This is a rash generalization, of course, but in a city that is burdened by crushing debt, it seems unlikely that they will make the investment in preserving the Arena in this manner if it costs too much.

(5) What's even worse: half-assed plans. On the edge of the City of Pittsburgh, back where no one goes in Fairywood, there is a two-lane highway that runs 6 blocks. Back in the day it was supposed to be a vital link to Route 60 near Crafton. Today, I think you can get to the UPS depot. That is a half-assed plan and it sucks. I'd hate to see the Arena end up like that.

(6) Mr. Pfaffman starts off his short plan with a short quote from Hill playwright August Wilson: "My plays insist that we should not forget or toss away our history." If you know the history of the development of the "Melody Tent" site, you'll appreciate the irony. In fact, I'm sure you can find enough people in the Hill that would be fighting to be the first in line to drive a bulldozer through the Arena.

(7) Which brings up the larger question: who speaks for the Hill? The City? The Penguins? The Councilperson? The Churches? The Community Organizations? The Residents? The Old Residents? The New Residents? There is no doubt in my mind that no matter what the eventual decision is, a large, vocal minority (or even majority) will be unhappy.

(8) And then, of course, who determines what the "Good" for the Hill actually is?

So, that's the opinion of a person that doesn't know a fascia from a soffit from a Fresca. Take it for what it's worth.

Tag(s): Hill District, Mellon Arena

"C" is for Arena (That's Good Enough for Me)

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on economic development, let alone a sports and exhibition authority, but this article in the P-G this morning on the new arena raised a couple red flags with me. From the article:

State and local politicians should go beyond Plan B to offer the Penguins something other cities can't -- a share of the profits in the redevelopment of the Mellon Arena site, city Councilman Bill Peduto says...

"This is the perfect opportunity for [Detroit businessman and casino licensee Don] Barden, the Penguins, the city, the county and the state to partner together," he said. "It's a great way to keep the team in Pittsburgh, redevelop the Hill, get Barden more involved in the community, and lessen the impact on taxpayers."...

He said the arrangement would be similar to that negotiated with the Pirates and the Steelers to redevelop land between PNC Park and Heinz Field. Both teams get a piece of revenues from the redevelopment, which is being led by Continental Real Estate Cos.

I've only been grudgingly a supporter of this type of big project/sports venue development and, again, I'm not an expert here, but there are a couple thoughts for you to chew on.

Before anything, if the proposed "Melody Tent Site" development does take place, I would assume that it would take the form of similar large scale redevelopment projects in the City by creating a mixed-income, mixed use development. So, basically you're talking the opportunity for small retail space (perhaps a grocery store!), some small office space, rental apartments affordable to low and middle income families, and for sale houses or condominiums. That's not to say that it couldn't be something totally different, but I think this is a safe City modus operandi to bet on. Financing for the development would probably come from a mixture of state and local funds, Barden's $7.5M/30 yr commitment, private loans and grants, and equity investment.

If I was the Penguins, this would not look like an attractive scenario for a couple of reasons. First, the ROI for this project is long term based on a non-guaranteed stream of income from the development. It seems unlikely that any small office, retail, or rental development would create a profit in the first year or even first yearS. If the Penguins are patient, they could be sitting on a tidy little sum eventually, but not until all the bonds, investors, and creditors are paid off or if there is sufficient cash flow.

That is, of course, unless the Penguins are capitalizing on the actual sale of the land and getting a share of those profits. Now, that's assuming that there are any actual profits to be had, considering that the value of the land to a developer and the developer's willingness to pay will be directly related to the ROI that can be (probably) achieved. So, again, if the development can't afford the sales price of land, it will either (a) not happen or (b) have to subsidized so that it can.

If I was any other group that received funding from the City (especially in areas that are in equally dire need of economic revitalization), I would be royally pissed. Either plan basically shunts already scarce economic development resources away from other areas in order to create an artificial profit for the Penguins. Morever, the $7.5M promised by Barden over 30 years really only works out to about $115 Million, not $225 Million, when you take the discounted value. In that case, the City or the Penguins would have to float a bond to cover those payments, an action that may or may not be possible given the financial concerns of each. If it's the City, floating a bond will restrict its ability to borrow for more critical projects.

Finally, if I was any of the groups in the Hill, I would definitely want a say in what would be going on in my neighborhood. While it is, in my opinion, nearly inevitable that the development would be mixed-income, mixed use, the actual ratio of the mixture is unknown. The desires of the residents may not be compatible with the economic profitability of the project, thereby forcing more public resources into the project.

So I guess what I'm trying to say here is that if I were the Penguins, I wouldn't think that this plan improves the City's bargaining position much. If anything, I would be looking for more up front money, maximizing profit as quickly as possible.

And notice I didn't mention anything about the profitability of the new arena itself.

Tag(s): Economic Development, Pittsburgh Penguins, Mellon Arena

The Gambler

When the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania legalized gambling, most of us assumed that it would be limited to slots. Little did we know that games of chance would worm their way into all walks of public life and little did we know that it would happen so quickly. And I ain't just talking about the blue haired bingo nights down in the church basement.

Here's the rundown on the games currently being played in Casino PA:

First, at this table, we have Democrat Rep. Tom Caltagirone of Berks County, Former Republican House Speaker John Perzel , Democratic Rep. H. William DeWeese, Republican Rep. Dennis M. O'Brien of Philadelphia and the rest of the State House playing a game of high stakes poker or possibly roulette.

Betting on Black was the new Democratic House Majority, with the exception of Rep. Caltagirone, who tried to draw to an inside straight with the Republicans, only to back the wrong horse when DeWeese brings loaded dice to the table. DeWeese substitutes a ringer for the House Speakership, and causes Caltagirone and the Republicans to fold. Caltagirone will probably later be taking away by casino security. If that metaphor isn't confusing enough, try reading it after half a bottle of Gewürztraminer.

Now with and effective majority-minority coalition running the State House, it'll be interesting to see if this paves the way for more transparent government or just be another exercise in political shenanigans and card counting.

I'm giving even odds on political shenanigans and card counting.

Second, we have the Penguins and Local Officials playing a high stakes game of chicken with the local hockey team and the promise of a new arena. The Lemieux Group is betting that they can squeeze out a bunch of concessions from local politicians, while the local politicians are betting that they can cobble together funding for a new arena in order to stave off a Penguins relocation. Lemieux raised the stakes today by meeting with officials from Kansas City, who are looking to add the Penguins to their collection of mediocre professional sports teams.

I'm giving 2-1 odds that the Penguins will relocate, but a new arena will be built anyway.

Third and finally, we have the Port Authority of Allegheny County playing a game of liar's poker with the public, suggesting that if new funding doesn't come through, fares will be raised and routes will be cut. PAT was sloppy, however: many of the routes that are on the chopping block wouldn't make sense. For example, nearly every route that uses the fairly new West Busway would be cut. Now, while I'm sure that Senator Specter enjoys the shortcut on his way around the Ft. Pitt Tunnel, but that is hardly a good sole use of a public resource. It sounds like PAT is trying to paint a doomsday scenario in order to push for more funding.

I'm giving 3-1 odds that the funding comes through; I'm also giving even odds that my route is the one of the ones that will ultimately be cut.

But remember, for what it's worth, the House always wins...

And always bet on black...

And don't count your money while your sitting at the table; there'll be time enough for counting, when the dealing's done.

Tag(s): Pennsylvania State House, Pittsburgh Penguins, PAT