Jewish World Review June 30, 2003 / 30 Sivan, 5763

Evan Weiner

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Cities can never say no to sports


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Does the future of the Pittsburgh Penguins rest on a Pennsylvania House decision to legalize slot machines at the state's racetracks?

Professional leagues always try to distance themselves from gaming and gambling, but Mario Lemieux claims the Penguins cannot survive in Pittsburgh without a new facility.

Lemieux may have found someone who can help secure arena funding the owner of the Mountaineer Race Track and gaming resort has agreed to kick in $60 million toward the construction of a rink if he can get a horse track with slots in Allegheny County.

Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell is pushing to legalize slots and would kick in money for a new arena if the Penguins raise some cash for the project. Lemieux apparently has a backer, which is crucial to the project, and has two of the three state elements his franchise needs to get the arena process going, the senate and governor.

He needs the House to say yes to slots. once that happens, Pittsburgh like many other cities will find taxpayers dollars to build an arena.

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If the House says no, then there will surely be another plan to spend public dollars for a private business because cities can never say no to sports

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JWR contributor Evan Weiner is a radio commentator on "The Business of Sports" for Westwood One's Metro Networks. He is being presented with the United States Sports Academy's Distinguished Service Award for 2003. Comment on this column by clicking here.

Up

06/27/03: Reporters should not play any part in the sports marketing machine
06/26/03: Court outcome today will permanently alter college football
06/25/03: Why is baseball joining forces with Ozzfest?
06/24/03: Time for a college football super league
06/23/03: Congressional sports
06/20/03: Will you — should you — continue to watch TV after the summer?
06/19/03: Philadelphia's miscalculations should be viewed as a warning for cities who seek Big League status
06/18/03: Why is Jason Kidd being criticized while his owners aren't?
06/17/03: The best college sports action isn't taking place on the field
06/16/03: AOL Time Warner stands up to Steinbrenner
06/13/03: NY Dem warring against private golf clubs
06/12/03: $ports threats against politicos spreading
06/11/03: How Eisner gets away with it
06/10/03: Will there be no more NHL in 15 months?
06/09/03: Why sports attendance continues to decline
06/05/03: Score one for Jeb
06/04/03: FCC developments will have profound affects on sports and TV
06/03/03: If the Senate really wanted to put some teeth into controlling college sports ...
05/30/03: Dugouts or diplomas?
05/29/03: And you thought the NFL only did sports
05/28/03: Congress to re-regulate the cable TV industry? NBA hopes they don't!
05/27/03: The outrageous role of shoe companies in college basketball goes further than Lebron James
05/23/03: NHL's woes are its own doing
05/22/03: Draft double standard?
05/21/03: PGA and Sorenstam got exactly what they wanted — and we gave it to them
05/20/03: Are changes in offing for cable TV sportsviewers?
05/19/03: The courting of Alex Spanos
05/16/03: Sports management recruiters are being forced to run defense
05/15/03: Do we really need another hockey league!?
05/14/03: In sports, talking the truth can get you in greater trouble than breaking the law
05/13/03: Are colleges and universities playing their own version of free agency?
05/12/03: Congress ought not be in the ballpark building business
05/09/03: Standards in sports journalism? Not quite
05/08/03: All you need to know about Major League Baseball
05/07/03: NCAA must not stop cleaning ship
05/06/03: Can spending billions for a two week Olympics be justified?
05/05/03: ESPN rate hikes and those who'd fool the FCC
05/02/03: Why the NFL is so prosperous
05/01/03: How you can tell NASCAR has finally hit the big time
04/30/03: Allies in war, not sports
04/29/03: Using sports teams to pay a city's bills
04/28/03: Can Castro score a coup?
04/25/03: Will SARS have a permanent impact on Toronto's NBA and Major League Baseball franchises?
04/22/03: Correct the hypocrisy in big time college sports
04/21/03: Municipal sports spending is a national problem
04/16/03: How a lonely city council member could change how the sports world operates
04/15/03: Is spending billions for sports the way to repair decades of apartheid practices?
04/14/03: Baseball's gambling problems are bigger than Pete Rose's return
04/11/03: A blueprint for future NBA bargaining?
04/08/03: How sports owners and cable sports networks can help jumpstart the economy
04/07/03: Will Pound get the straight dope on athlete druggies?
04/04/03: Will sports industry suffer now that states are prioritizing funding?
04/03/03: I'll pass on the life of a college basketball player
04/02/03: Time to fix the cable TV sports model
04/01/03: Sportsworld to get its own 'Enron'?
03/31/03: When $ports helps close public educational institutions
03/28/03: Baseball already striking out
03/26/03: NFL giving administration a big boost --- but don't credit them with being patriotic
03/20/03: Guardians of college basketball question your competence with a remote
03/19/03: Sports should be stopped because of war?
03/18/03: The madness needs to be cured
03/17/03: Not exactly the kind of news baseball wants
03/14/03: Keep the pols' paws off my cable TV bill!
03/13/03: In sports, 'free' is usually expensive
03/11/03: War on sports?
03/10/03: Sen. McCain, here's one more sports issue to take up
03/07/03: Playing the $tadium game --- and $coring
03/06/03: NBA should study history before wa$ting tax payer re$ource$
03/05/03: Baseball may no longer be very, very good to Ruppert Murdoch
03/04/03: At Augusta, the real fun and games will not be on the course
02/28/03: Will sports world soon be awaken to war realities?
02/27/03: Is baseball just a game like every other, after all?
02/26/03: He wasn't a player, manager or an owner, but he belongs in Cooperstown
02/25/03: States lining up to protect "college athletes' rights'"?
02/24/03: Why Gov. Ed Rendell is more important to the Pittsburgh Penguins' future than its owner
02/21/03: Tyson is living proof that both Mencken and Barnum were both right and Warhol was wrong
02/20/03: An endless season
02/19/03: The bills have come due
02/18/03: The world may be falling apart ... but American baseball teams are more popular than ever overseas
02/14/03: Adding jocks to the state's payrolls
02/13/03: How can the financially struggling Cablevision bail out another NHL franchise?
02/12/03: Selig is undermining sports franchises
02/11/03: Politicians and business leaders want to join a business that admits it's failing financially
02/10/03: Hold the pols responsible for rate hikes!
02/07/03: Judge a team's future by journalist's job?
02/05/03: College Sports and priorities
02/04/03: While corporate America parties, one wonders about the world's largest communications company and its future
02/03/03: High schooler picked the wrong $port to excel at
01/31/03: Gaming and games
01/30/03: The NHL's game plan
01/29/03: The moral guardians of basketball need some schooling themselves
01/24/03: America's excuse for a party
01/22/03: Turning San Diego into an armed camp
01/22/03: Will San Diego lose on Sunday --- even if it wins?

© 2003, Evan Weiner