The Penguins probably will be sold before the city's casino license is awarded, and the team president accused local politicians yesterday of lulling people into a false sense of security about the team's future in Pittsburgh.

Ken Sawyer, who doubles as the Penguins chief executive officer, said he is "90 percent sure" the team will have a new owner by the time the state Gaming Control Board issues the Pittsburgh license, expected late this year or early next.

During a taping of "KD/PG Sunday Edition," Mr. Sawyer said the only sure bet that the team will stay in town once it is sold is if Isle of Capri Casinos wins the Pittsburgh license. Beyond that, there's no guarantee, he said.

"The team will stay here if Isle of Capri wins. And if there's no alternative that's viable for this team, then that's the risk the community will take," he said.

Isle of Capri, in partnership with the Penguins, has pledged $290 million toward a new arena as part of its bid for the license. PITG Gaming LLC, headed by casino mogul Don Barden, has committed $7.5 million a year for 30 years under Gov. Ed Rendell's alternative funding plan, known as Plan B.

The third bidder, Forest City Enterprises, has said it is "100 percent" in favor of Plan B, but only if the Penguins first agree to stay in Pittsburgh. It has not committed to $7.5 million, saying its pledge would be contingent on what the team puts in.

Mr. Sawyer chastised local politicians for cultivating a "sense of complacency" with the public that the Penguins will remain in town under Plan B, when he said that was far from certain.

"That's the worst thing our politicians can do is to give people a false sense of security with a Plan B, declare victory, when in fact we're so far from that and they know it," he said.

Mr. Sawyer was referring to Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato's statement at last week's Gaming Control Board hearings that he was confident a new arena would be built and the Penguins would stay. Mr. Onorato based that comment on his belief that all three bidders had committed some level of funding for an arena.

The Penguins have not committed to Plan B, under which it would have to contribute $4 million a year to funding an arena, saying there are lots of unanswered questions about the plan. They would contribute nothing under the Isle of Capri proposal, which requires the owner to keep the team in Pittsburgh.

"To declare victory, which is what Dan Onorato said, when many of the pieces are missing from Plan B ... People shouldn't get complacent and think that the Penguins are here forever and wake up one day and find out there was never really a real Plan B," he said.

Mr. Sawyer did not identify any potential buyers. The Penguins can leave town when their Mellon Arena lease expires at the end of June 2007. However, they have the right to shop the team to other cities starting this July, and Mr. Sawyer sounded as if the ownership will do so.

"We're going to take care of every option we have. We've been working at this [new arena] for six years. We've got $14 million invested already in the project and to date we don't have an alternative," he said.

Kansas City has been courting a hockey team, and other potential suitors could be Houston and Las Vegas.

In a later interview, Mr. Onorato said he stood by the comments he made before the gaming board.

"I will tell you that I feel as confident today as I did when I announced it that whoever wins this, we will have an arrangement to build a new multipurpose facility using gaming money," he said.

If Isle of Capri does not get the license, he said, it's too late then to start negotiating an alternative funding plan with the winning bidder and the Penguins. That's why Plan B was put together, he said.

"If we put the different proposals in play now, we're ready to hit the ground running, no matter who wins this thing, and that has always been my goal. When the decision comes down, [the Penguins] have a deal if they want it," he said.

The fact that the Penguins could be sold before the license is awarded is neither a positive nor a negative, Mr. Onorato said. He doubted whether it would create additional pressure on the gaming board or local politicians.

"I actually believe at the end of the day that it will be an irrelevant issue because, regardless of who owns the team, we'll going to do everything we can to promote keeping it here," he said.

Mr. Barden accused the Penguins of trying to force the gaming board to issue a "no-bid license" anointing Isle of Capri the winner.

"This process is not designed just for the benefit of the Penguins. It also was designed to lower taxes for the people of Pennsylvania," he said.