We're Pucked

The team that seemed most likely to come to Kansas City appeared to be the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. The team went up for sale in January, and prospective buyer Sam Fingold suggested this May that he'd move the team here. Fingold, a 34-year-old Connecticut real estate developer, called Kansas City "one of the most under-served sports markets" in the country. Fingold told the Star: "I think Kansas City needs an NHL franchise, and I'd love to be the one to do it."

But Pittsburgh stepped up to keep the team. Isle of Capri has agreed to build a $290 million arena if the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awards the casino company a slots license. If that doesn't work, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has devised a plan to pay for the arena with bonds that could be paid off by the Penguins in modest annual installments.

With those two offers on the table, getting the Penguins to Kansas City for next year's opening of the Sprint Center would be virtually impossible. NHL rules forbid a team from moving if there's a plan to stabilize a team in its current city, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he favors keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

On July 28, Fingold signed a letter of intent to purchase the Penguins for $175 million. At the same time, he backpedaled from his early interest in Kansas City. "We agree with the current ownership group that the Penguins should remain in Pittsburgh, and that a new arena is crucial to the team's long-term success," Fingold said in a statement released that night. "The Penguins are an important part of Pittsburgh's sports landscape, and it is our objective to do everything possible to secure their future here."

Last week, Fingold's deal to buy the Penguins appeared to be falling through, according to several media reports in Pittsburgh. The Star buried the news in a 415-word article on page nine of the sports section.

Despite the clear setbacks, AEG and Kansas City officials still talk of the Penguins and others as possibilities.

Kevin Gray, president of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation, talks of the "golden opportunity" Kansas City has to land the Penguins. "We definitely respect the fact that the league wants to stay in Pittsburgh," Gray tells the Pitch. "But our belief is that right now, if the league wants to be successful and solidify a market, you can do that here right now."

The man offering more promises than anyone else, however, has been AEG's Leiweke. Leiweke is a familiar face on the Kansas City sports scene. In the '80s, he was general manager and later president of the Kansas City Comets, an indoor soccer franchise that began with promise and kept crowds flowing into Kemper Arena. Leiweke left the team in 1988 to work for the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA franchise; three years later, the Comets fizzled out.

Leiweke talked about a major tenant for the Sprint Center even before voters in August 2004 approved a hike in car-rental and hotel and motel fees to pay for the new arena.

Early on, Leiweke said the only question would be whether the Sprint Center's tenant would be a hockey team or a basketball team, according to the Star. He continued his optimism in July 2004. "If you build a world-class facility and create the economic streams for the franchise to thrive, you're going to get an NBA and an NHL team here," he told the Star.

More than a year after those initial comments, Leiweke said in September 2005 that either an NHL or an NBA team would be in the Sprint Center "when you open the doors," the Star reported. In November 2005, he played up the Penguins as a possible tenant. "The Pittsburgh Penguins can be the Kansas City Penguins," he told the Star, "no question about it."

Mayor Kay Barnes has kept up a cheery demeanor, remaining optimistic even as the list of possible teams has dwindled. In July, Barnes told the Star: "I am totally confident that AEG has been and will continue to do what is necessary to secure a NBA or NHL team or both for the Sprint Center."

The key words were "or both." Adding both would put Kansas City in league with the biggest sports markets — Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. But the city likely wouldn't be able to support teams in both leagues.

Barnes apparently wasn't aware of Kansas City's ranking as the No. 5 most overextended sports market in the country.

American City Business Journals, the parent company of the Kansas City Business Journal, analyzed 179 markets earlier this year to see if residents had enough income to support pro sports teams. The study found that Kansas Citians can't even support the teams already here. To support a hockey or a basketball team, Kansas City would need another $100 billion in personal income. "There's a new arena going up in Kansas City, inspiring brave talk about pursuing a franchise in the NBA or NHL," according to the report. "But the hard truth is that the city has already lost teams in both of those leagues."