Star-Telegram
Cuban eyes Penguins deal
By DAVID SESSIONS
June 28, 2006

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has joined with fellow Pittsburgh native Dan Marino and a New York City financier in a group that wants to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise, Cuban confirmed to the Star-Telegram on Tuesday.

Cuban's and Marino's group is seeking to buy the Penguins from NHL Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux's group. The Penguins are looking to replace 45-year-old Mellon Arena, and the uncertainty over their arena status has put their future in Pittsburgh in jeopardy.

Cuban's and Marino's group, which has bid an estimated $150 million for the team, has promised not to move the team. Keeping the team in Pittsburgh was a condition of Cuban's participation in the group, which is headed by Andrew Murstein, the president of Medallion Financial Corp., a company based in New York.

"I'm involved to help them stay in Pittsburgh," Cuban said in an e-mail.

Other members of Cuban's group include principals from Pittsburgh-based Walnut Capital, a real estate management and development company.

Murstein was in Dallas on Tuesday, presumably to meet with Cuban. Walnut Capital president Todd Reidbord said recently that his group was the only one of at least five bidders that was fully committed to staying in Pittsburgh.

The team is expected to be sold before the NHL season begins in October.

Lemieux's group has partnered with Isle of Capri Casinos, which has agreed to build a $290 million arena if it wins a license for a slot machine casino in the city.

Cuban was interested in buying into Lemieux's group when it bought the Penguins from bankruptcy court in 1999 but chose not to accept a role without day-to-day involvement in the team's operations. Marino and Cuban have both expressed interest in buying the Pirates in recent years.

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