Pirates, civic center ink five-year lease
After fits and starts, the Portland Pirates hockey team and Cumberland County Civic Center have signed a five-year lease agreement that will bring the team back from Lewiston next fall.
The Portland Press Herald reported the deal signed Tuesday differs little from one outlined last summer, giving the Pirates 57.5% of game-day liquor and food sales revenue, after expenses. That’s contingent on the Legislature’s passage of a bill that would let the team collect a portion of alcoholic beverage sales, despite not being listed on the arena’s liquor license. The paper reported that bill received unanimous committee support, but negotiators have agreed that the team would take 65% of game-day food sales if the bill fails.
The lease deal also grants the team a portion of proceeds from any naming-rights agreement for the arena, requiring the civic center to buy ad space from the team if a naming-rights deal includes advertising inside of the arena.
The team has played its current season at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, where team owner Ron Cain said games have drawn 2,500 fans, on average, compared with around 4,500 per game last season at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The civic center has been under renovation since April and is expected to reopen soon.
Read more
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments