Jan 5, 2005 3 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t practicing, so they apparently don’t feel any immediate need for a practice rink. With no end in sight to the labor impasse that may force the cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season, the Penguins allowed the lease on their practice rink at the Southpointe business-residential complex in Washington County to lapse.

“There’s no sense of urgency right now” to find a practice site, Penguins vice president of communications Tom McMillan said Tuesday. “We’re keeping our options open, and we can always practice at the arena (Mellon Arena).”

The Southpointe rink, located about 20 minutes from Pittsburgh, was originally built by the Penguins during their Stanley Cup championship run in 1991-92. It was sold to investors after owner-player Mario Lemieux bought the team in federal bankruptcy court in 1999.

The team leased the practice rink for five years, but let the lease lapse once it became clear the current season would be substantially delayed or canceled.

“It (a practice rink) isn’t anywhere near the top of the list of our priorities right now,” McMillan said.

Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk also prefers to hold practice at Mellon Arena rather than Southpointe, and he held a majority of in-season practices there last season. Previously, many in-season practices were held at Southpointe, requiring the team to regularly shuttle equipment and practice gear between the practice rink and Mellon Arena.

Some Penguins players, including Lemieux and Mark Recchi, have been working out at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Complex, which the university bought in 2003 in advance of fielding a Division I hockey program.

The Penguins might be interested in leasing that rink – mostly for preseason training camp – once the NHL lockout ends. Lemieux also has expressed interest in building a practice rink next to any new arena, a setup like that of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Lemieux considers that arrangement to be advantageous because players would play and practice at the same complex. Also, the main arena could be booked with concerts and other events on nights the team doesn’t play.

Despite being idled since April, the Penguins are moving ahead with plans to seek the license for the standalone betting parlor guaranteed for downtown Pittsburgh as part of the slots machine legislation passed last summer by Pennsylvania.

If the Penguins are awarded the casino license, they plan to use some proceeds to build a new arena to replace 44-year-old Mellon Arena, the NHL’s oldest and smallest arena. The team already owns land that could be used for the arena, a former hospital site across the street from Mellon Arena.

With the Penguins no longer planning to lease the Ice-O-Plex rink at Southpointe, the real estate management firm of Grubb & Ellis is attempting to lease the property for retail or commercial use.

According to the company’s Web site, the rink is “great for professional service providers and hockey organizations.”