from Jenn Menendez of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Experts say the high fee for an expansion franchise could drive up the price of the Penguins, a successful and known commodity.

“Psychologically, it may help a buyer who’s interested in purchasing the Penguins, between the team and the development rights, to kind of justify to themselves that I can go up to $750 million or $800 [million] or $850 [million] because I don’t have to do all that work,” said John Clark, a professor in sports marketing at Robert Morris. “In the Penguins case I think it helps them a little bit.”

The franchise has been on the market since June 3, when it retained Morgan Stanley to explore the possibility of a sale. It was most recently valued by Forbes at $565 million and ranked the 10th most valuable NHL team largely because of its long-term lease at Consol Energy Center, a lengthy string of sellouts, development rights where the Civic Arena stood, a strong television rights package and healthy merchandise sales.

“In my personal opinion in the case of the Penguins, I would not be surprised if they saw a premium price for the franchise,” said Larry Grimes, president of the Maryland-based Sports Advisory Group, which advises investors on purchasing professional teams. “It’s one of the most well-established franchises in the league with a rabid fan base, stars locked up, Stanley Cups under their belt. It’s a strong franchise in what appears to be a strong market. I had seen articles last week that indicated the price could be as high as $850 million. I would not doubt that.”

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