Allegheny Institute Blog

Suitors for the Pittsburgh Penguins keep surfacing. Kansas City officials met with team owners and discussed a possible relocation. But other cities have surfaced as well. Even though Houston, Oklahoma City and Tulsa have not been in contact with the team, each has expressed an interest in luring the Penguins should arena talks in Pittsburgh fall apart. A Tulsa investor, who would lead the pursuit for the team to play in the under construction BOK arena said, “Pittsburgh has Sidney Crosby, the brightest young star in the NHL in many years. They have great young players and they should be a strong team for many years to come.” He goes on to say that two or three teams have expressed interest in Tulsa.

While the young talent on the team bodes well for its future, if that is what is driving the interest, it is incredibly short-sighted. Even the most talented athlete retires and in the era of free agency, rarely does one athlete stay with the same team over their career. An arena, however, is a long-term commitment of at least thirty years.

As the Penguins’ franchise can attest, a lot can happen in thirty years—including bankruptcy (1971, 1975, and 1998). Will the fan base be able to support the team when it has losing seasons? Penguins’ fans have endured many stretches of losing seasons. These losing seasons are responsible for bringing the current crop of young talent to town. When fan support wanes, revenues from ticket sales and merchandise fall.

Will Crosby be enough to fill the seats initially in Kansas City, Tulsa, or Houston and will fans support the team when winning stops or when Crosby leaves the organization? That is a big question that team ownership must ask before it pulls up stakes and relocates. Pittsburgh has supported the Penguins for more than thirty years—through winning and losing seasons. They have shown a loyalty that should be reciprocated. Instead ownership appears to be using Crosby as a bargaining chip between the Governor and other cities.