PORTLAND – The clock is now ticking.

After the Portland Pirates announced their new lease agreement with the Cumberland County Civic Center Friday, the Pirates made it clear how displeased they were with the deal. In no uncertain terms, CEO Brian Petrovek said that if a better working agreement weren’t in the offering next time around, the Pirates’ future would be in doubt.

“We will not extend our lease with the Civic Center Trustees beyond this extension unless we are No. 1 playing in a venue which offers the necessary amenities for our players and fans consistent with the standards of the American Hockey League, which is currently not the case, and No. 2 have a more fair and reasonable set of economic terms with which to operate our business,” said Petrovek.

“We do not expect to have those conditions delivered to us on a silver platter. Effective with today’s announcement, we will take the initiative and work tirelessly with those stakeholders in greater Portland, including other business leaders and hopefully, the City of Portland, to get a new building project done.”

The Pirates announced the deal on a new lease late last week, after longer-than-hoped-for negotiations. The new lease begins in May of 2004 and runs through April 2006 and has a mutual option for a third year.

Portland will pay $2,250 per game in rent next season and $2,500 the following year. That’s a significant increase from the $500 they currently pay. The agreement does have an incentive for rent reduction on a game-by-game basis. The Pirates get $1 back for each person over 4,000.

“We are deeply disappointed in both the outcome of these negotiations and in the process by which they took place,” said Petrovek in a statement. “We worked diligently since May 7 when the county determined that formal negotiations would begin to bring about a mutually beneficial solution to the economic challenges which both the county and the Pirates face in a 26-year old venue.

“The result is far from mutually beneficial. The Trustees won, and the Pirates lost.”

Because the Trustees wanted to assure that the Pirates were a break-even tenant for the building, changes in the agreement had to be made. Since the building had lost money in recent years, something needed to be done so that Cumberland County taxpayers would not have to subsidize a for-profit tenant.

Petrovek said the only reason the Pirates agreed to the terms was because negotiations had dragged on for so long, the team was left with little option. Negotiations did not begin until May, putting the Pirates in a “lame-duck” contractual status. Besides, Petrovek said the team is committed to the Portland market and maintaining an AHL presence here. The Pirates already had long-term plans in place and did not want to walk away from those, including commitments to the United Way, the Portland Community Chamber of Commerce and the newly-formed Portland Pirates Foundation.

The Pirates have always struggled to make money in Portland. With the AHL moving into larger cities and larger venues, it has made it even more of a challenge for the Pirates to compete financially. The Pirates have been a staunch supporter of a new arena in Portland and have been frustrated with the lack of progress on a new venue or renovation of the current building.

Petrovek makes it clear that the Pirates want to stay in Portland and succeed in Portland, but unless the current business climate changes, that may not be possible.

“From this day forward, you will not hear any further statements from me or any other representative of the Pirates concerning this negotiation, the trustees of the Civic Center or the challenges we continue to have with the building in which we play,” he said. “We may have lost this single battle with the trustees, but we are planning to win the war and create a strong, viable, long-term position for our franchise in Portland in a venue of which we all will be proud. Our focus will not be on the past but on getting a venue project done for the future which will benefit not just our business but also the city and the region as a whole.”

News and notes: With Rastislav Stana recalled by Washington, the Pirates signed former UMaine goaltender Matt Yeats to a try-out contract. Yeats had played 48 games with Atlantic City in the ECHL last year, going 23-16-8 and a 3.01 goals against average. He saw 18 minutes of action Saturday night in relief of Maxime Ouellet, allowing 1 goal and making 13 saves.