PITTSBURGH, PA - You could have bet this would happen.

You could have successfully wagered that Pittsburgh Pirates officials would absurdly assert they are entitled to a cut of legalized sports betting revenue that will soon be coming to Pennsylvania. After all, for years they have all but suggested that the team's nickname should be changed from Pirates to Paupers. The Pirates find it appalling that they have to pay their players, as evidenced by perpetually having one of the smallest payrolls in baseball. They apparently are equally aghast that they also have to kick in for the upkeep of PNC Park, a stadium whose construction costs they mostly managed to avoid paying.

The evidence of that is in a letter team president Frank Coonelly recently wrote to the state Gaming Control Board. In it, Coonelly expressed angst over the Pirates potentially being shut out of a revenue stream to which they aren't entitled. He complained that the team's landlord, the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, does not spend enough on capital projects at the stadium. He then notes that that the Pirates are responsible for PNC Park's maintenance and operational expenses.

You see where this is headed? If not, read the next paragraph and be enlightened. "It stands to reason that a portion of the revenue collected from sports wagering should be allocated to the maintenance and upkeep of PNC Park and the other sports-related facilities in Pennsylvania which provide for sports wagering in the first place," Coonelly wrote. "We are concerned that no such provision is included in the current (state) law or regulation."

Hear that? Coonelly is concerned that the state might not financially assist a business that is hugely profitable, partly because that business didn't pay much for its headquarters.

PNC Park, which opened in 2001, cost $262 million to build. The Pirates share was $40 million. For those keeping score at home, that's 15 percent of the stadium construction costs.

With that kind of deal, and not being liable for capital improvements, you'd think the Pirates would be ecstatic over just having to pick up PNC Park maintenance and operating costs. But remember the mindset here. The Pirates constantly complain about the challenges of being a "small market" team. They blame that status for the team's perpetually puny payroll.