Lease change in the works between Arena board and Penguins for pandemic-shortened hockey season

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — A hockey season like no other will mean changes to the lease at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza for its anchor tenant.

The Luzerne County Convention Center Authority that owns and operates the facility is in the process of crafting an addendum with new terms for an pandemic abbreviated season with no fans, so far, for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Authority board members Wednesday at their monthly meeting approved a resolution to negotiate the terms for the season running from February to May. Prior to the vote, the board met in executive session.

Authority Chairman Gary Zingaretti said the aim is to help the Penguins organization that will shoulder a greater financial burden than the arena the team calls home ice.

“Basically, all we’re trying to do, we’ve got fixed costs associated with making the ice and keeping the building opened up and having lights on in here,” Zingaretti said.

The addendum also will cover variable costs the Penguins will have, Zingaretti added. “We’re going to cover those expenses and we’re not looking to make a profit,” he said.

The terms that have essentially been agreed to, but have not yet been put in writing, Zingaretti pointed out. The team is expected to have 16 home games and an identical number of road games skating in the American Hockey League.

The Authority and WBS Hockey LP, that does business as the Penguins, signed a 10-year extension in July 2019, the third in a series dating back to 1999. It included a host of terms from rent, revenue sharing, concessions, parking fees, capital improvements and Zamboni purchases to maintain the arena ice.

“The current contract clearly never contemplated playing games here with no fans,” Zingaretti said.

The arena has been closed for hockey, concerts, shows and sporting events since March 2019 when restrictions on crowds were put in place in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

A limited number of people are expected to be allowed to attend the District II PIAA high school basketball playoffs in March, however.

Will Beekman, general manager of the arena for the management company ASM Global, said approximately 500 people will be allowed in the stands for each game.

The calendar from September to December of this year has a lot of movement with the expected return of shows and performers to venues, Beekman said. “And if we get there, we’re going to have a really busy last four months,” he said.

While the arena is closed, the staff has been working on renovations and Beekman recognized them for their efforts.

The Authority approved a change in the club seat replacement project, adding an epoxy floor in place of the deep clean originally scheduled for the concrete. The change increased the cost to a maximum $290,000 from $265,000.

Leadership posts on the Authority remained the same this year after the election of officers: Zingaretti, chairman; Donna Cupinski, vice chairwoman; Tony Ryba, treasurer; and Tom Wood, secretary. Peter Biscontini was reappointed Right-to-Know officer.

The Authority’s next meeting is at noon on Feb. 10 at the arena.