Of all the principals involved in deciding the fate of the Penguins, the only one with experience in an earlier Plan B is the one who controls the purse strings that can finish the deal today.

That would be Gov. Ed Rendell, a Philadelphian who is the most removed from the intricacies of Pittsburgh and who was central in a sequence when an earlier stadium package nearly collapsed in its final stages.

Back in 1998, when former Mayor Tom Murphy had crafted a plan with commissioners Mike Dawida and Bob Cranmer to provide the local funding for a ballpark and stadium, the final piece of the deal hinged on getting a state contribution.

With approval pending before the Legislature in late November, Mr. Rendell -- then the Democratic mayor of Philadelphia -- had promised Mr. Murphy he would deliver the votes of Philadelphia area lawmakers because the state money would go into a fund to help the Pirates, Steelers, Phillies and Eagles build new homes.

But Mr. Rendell figured the Pittsburgh plan was so far ahead of Philadelphia's that he failed to get the right people on board. Without their support, there wasn't even a vote taken and the whole plan appeared to be dead. Mr. Murphy said he felt "double-crossed" by Mr. Rendell. And Mr. Rendell later confessed he hadn't laid the groundwork, saying, "I miscalculated."

It took two full months of damage control and insider maneuvering by the administration of then-Gov. Tom Ridge to get things back on course. One week before the Pirates and Steelers could trigger escape clauses, the Legislature approved the state's share on Feb. 3, 1999. This time, Mr. Rendell delivered. While these public expenditures are always hotly debated, even reluctant Republicans lent their support to approve the spending.

"I really thought the Pirates would leave, and I didn't want the House of Representatives to be blamed," said John Perzel of Philadelphia, then the House Majority Leader.

Back then, the Plan B engine was driven by Pittsburgh. Mr. Murphy and his administration considered the sports team to be brand names for Pittsburgh and did everything he could to keep them. And Mr. Ridge, who considered the loss of sports franchises to be a step back for the state, had Pittsburgh roots in that his family settled in Munhall.

This time around, the dynamic is different in a lot of ways.

Back then, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was a sophomore place-kicker in college. County Chief Executive Dan Onorato was on city council. Both are on board for a new arena, but the city and county aren't putting up public money for it. The bulk of the money comes from slot machine casinos -- in the form of a state development fund and a pledge from Pittsburgh's licensee Don Barden.

Mr. Rendell, Mr. Onorato and Mr. Ravenstahl want the Penguins to stay. The Penguins and co-owner Mario Lemieux, despite public frustrations over the pace of arena talks over the years, want to stay in their home market even though they have an offer on the table to move into a new Kansas City arena without having to pay rent. As a sign of where they stand, the Penguins have pledged to pay what Mr. Rendell asked when he crafted Plan B -- $4 million a year. The NHL wants the Penguins, one of the hottest commodities in hockey, to stay in an established market with an established fan base and with loyal TV viewers.

So why, after all the posturing and the debate, is this not a done deal?

The devil, as always, is in the details.

More than two months after a Jan. 4 meeting that set the framework for a deal, a couple of stumbling blocks remain. The Penguins have agreed to pay cost overruns once construction starts, but they want to know who is on the hook for what if bids come in that surpass the guaranteed maximum price. The Penguins also believe there is enough money on the table to cover a $290 million bond issue, but the state believes there is a gap in funding. The Penguins asked for but did not receive information on interest rates to find out the reason for the discrepancy.

Those aren't deal-breakers. But unhappy over the failure to get the final figures, the Penguins have declared an impasse in talks and are aggressively exploring what may be available beyond Kansas City by visiting Las Vegas and Houston, although Houston officials say they now are no longer interested in pursuing the team.

The Penguins are free to leave Pittsburgh in June if there is no deal. And there could be an outrageously awkward situation in which they announce ticket sales for this year's playoffs while they announce they are leaving town.

Mr. Rendell's comments indicate that he can't understand why the Penguins haven't jumped on board yet for Plan B. He has even said he will ask NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to intervene and order the Penguins to stay. That may not be the best tone going into the final phase.

The future of the Penguins in Pittsburgh may well be decided at a meeting today in Philadelphia. Given that these negotiations have dragged on like a terminal condition, that meeting may be held at what used to be the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, which was the place where Legionnaires' Disease was first identified in 1976.

One person with a stake in the outcome has said that the decision on the future of the Penguins in Pittsburgh will be made by Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Bettman, who will be at today's meeting. But that decision hinges on what they hear from Mr. Rendell, Mr. Onorato and Mr. Ravenstahl.

Nobody can afford any miscalculations at this crucial point.