“At the groundbreaking ceremony last week, Lemieux told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that “we (the owners) had to do a few things to put pressure on the city and the state, but our goal was to remain here in Pittsburgh all the way. Those trips to Kansas City and Vegas and other cities was just to go and have a nice dinner, and come back.” (Source)



Everything in negotiations eventually comes down to leverage. The more you have, the more you can swing the deal in your favour.



In arena talks between sports teams and the public, leverage is usually obtained by the franchise in a couple of ways: aspirational promises (redevelopment, revitalization, “world-class city”), and threats to move the team. Blackmail usually proceeds if and when other efforts fail to convince the public to hand over a blank cheque.



A few months ago the Calgary Flames arena took a turn when CSEC publicly walked away from talks with the city, with stern,...