Comments on: Friday Insider: Mario will make his money

By: Praveen

Praveen — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 19:54:06 +0000

Mario has made plenty of mine and he has already recouped what would have been owed him and more even if the pens sold for what they assessed the team at purchase date more than a decade ago. And even if they allowed for Burkle to expand his stake, or favor local owners, Mario would still make a killing on his stake. There is no need to make it a mega killing. So yes, I think he will undo a part of his legacy(mind you, not most of it, only a small part of it) if the team gets sold to an ownership with no passion for cultivating the Pittsburgh fan base.

By: rokinray

rokinray — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 15:18:56 +0000

Your ignorance of Pittsburgh philanthropy is appalling. The Carnegie library system, museum and CMU are far more significant contributions than Mario has made. The Mellon and Frick families impact is immense. Those are the big names. Pitt and CMU were joint benefactors a few years back when they were gifted a half billion dollars by an industrialist who died a few weeks later. Area taxpayers through their elected officials donated facilities worth more than 3/4 of a billion dollars for the teams. The list goes on. While noteworthy with his acts of generosity, Mario has a long way to go before he is THE patron saint of Pittsburgh.
Noteworthy

By: rokinray

rokinray — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 14:58:10 +0000

A true Mr. Pittsburgh would never threaten to move the team, even in jest or a game of chicken. Or is such gamesmanship now part of our character, or lack thereof?

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 09:39:05 +0000

It’s nice to see so much concern for the well-being of a man who’s already a multi-millionaire. Maybe instead of selling the team, the really, really rich boys and girls could just pass the hat among themselves to give Mario a big send-off.

By: helmsy

helmsy — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 22:50:23 +0000

Yikes. So wrong. Isle of Capri was ready to fund a new (nicer) arena with $290 million, all of it private money, tied to getting the casino license. The license went to somebody else (ask yourself why), but all the bidders, recall, had to step up and offer to help finance Consol as a result of IOC’s bid. It was a genius stroke by Burkle and Mario. The ultimate deal for taxpayers isn’t as good as it would have been had IOC gotten the license, but when you compare it to how most arenas are being financed today, folks in the ‘burgh got off cheap (particularly since the whole state is chipping in, rather than just Pittsburgh – that’s right, Flyers fans are subsidizing Consol). Step back and recall where the franchise and the league were at that time – Mellon was a dump. Oldest barn in the league. Crappy player facilities. Jack squat for ancillary revenue opportunities that help keep a team in the black. The Pens were bleeding money, and players didn’t want to play in Pittsburgh. There was no hope of the team increasing in value, or finding enough money to be a “cap team” without a new arena. So if Pittsburgh or the state weren’t going to help out, why shouldn’t the team move to a brand new AEG venue in Kansas City, or build a new arena in Vegas? The alternative was crap for the owners, and sub-optimal for the city. The casino license angle was brilliant exactly for that reason. That deal saved the Penguins, and is a helluva lot cheaper for the city than what it would be forced to do today to keep the team around. The guy never wanted to move the team. Don’t begrudge him or Burkle for being innovative and bargaining hard.

By: BP

BP — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 21:50:26 +0000

one philosophical change that this organization needs to make to go #allin is to stop slow playing their prospects. Teams are getting their young talent to the majors sooner and getting (controllable) impact sooner.

By: Mizery

Mizery — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 21:02:13 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly Brewer. I don’t want Hamel if it means getting rid of any of our pitching prospects. Although the Pirates would have to to get him. I also know what Jordan White is saying but comparing the Marlins ownership to the Diamondbacks ownership is an apples to oranges comparison. Marlins consistently trade stars after signing big contracts to put on the illusion that they are competing when all they want is for the fans to buy the tickets and then instantly cut bait with high priced players.

By: siriannij88

siriannij88 — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 19:50:09 +0000

If you see the big guy can you pass along a message? If Nutting calls please let voice mail pick it up. Thanks.

By: Mark Oliver

Mark Oliver — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 19:14:24 +0000

Well, I guess unfortunately it seems there has always been more to the story with Jose most of his career. Too bad…there was some potential there when we got him.

By: kaninny

kaninny — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 18:46:39 +0000

I think Mario will have the final call once all options are on the table. I truly believe in the saying “Mario would never do anything to hurt the franchise” What he spent his tine and energy in rebuilding will need to feel comfortable in turning the control to someone who would maintain his high expectations.