PORTLAND – Brian Petrovek, the CEO and managing owner of the Portland Pirates, said Thursday it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the pending sale of the Buffalo Sabres, his club’s parent team.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on something that’s still subject to certain conditions,” he said. “They’ve announced a step but until a transaction is completed it’s not appropriate for us to get into somebody else’s business.”
The $189 million sale is expected to close within 30 days, pending NHL and governmental approval.
“I’ve not involved in the discussion,” Petrovek said. “I’m not going to get into Buffalo’s business until a deal is done and then I’ll be happy to have a conversation about it.”
The Pirates are in the third year of an original five-year deal with the Sabres. The agreement was extended last March, but neither team would say for how many years.
The current Sabres owner, B. Thomas Golisano, said Thursday he preferred to sell the team to a Pennsylvania businessman, Terry Pegula, rather than move it from Buffalo.
Golisano said the windfall from the sale would have been greater if he had accepted an earlier offer for $70 million more from someone he wouldn’t identify. But that would have meant moving the team.
Golisano, who bought the team out of bankruptcy in 2003, said he is selling because of a government-related venture he’ll announce in Washington later this month.
Golisano has run unsuccessfully three times for governor of New York.
Larry Quinn, the minority owner, will step down as managing partner.
PIRATES RIGHT WING Mark Mancari was named the AHL Player of the Month.
In 15 games, Mancari, who leads the AHL with 27 goals, had 13 goals and eight assists with a plus-10 rating to help the Pirates climb within a point of Manchester, the division leader.
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