Schiller wouldn't mention the Devils, but did say YankeeNets is seeking to expand and that basketball-hockey pairings are necessary to make new arenas economically viable. The Nets, currently sharing the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. with the Devils, want a new arena built for them in Newark.

Timing is everything

NEWARK, N.J. -- A Stanley Cup championship for the New Jersey Devils this season could bring a big windfall to team owner John McMullen. If the league-leading Devils do hoist the cup this spring, the YankeeNets organization will pay an extra $15 million in their expected purchase of the hockey team, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in Wednesday's editions. That would boost the sale price to at least $190 million, the newspaper reported, citing a Devils source it did not name. Earlier reports said the sale of the Devils to the joint venture involving the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets is pending, but will not be announced until after the Devils' season ends. Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello also would cash in from the sale -- and a potential Stanley Cup title. Lamoriello owns as much as 18 percent of the team. The newspaper's source said Lamoriello probably would not be part of the ownership group after YankeeNets takes over.

"Things are moving along very well," said Schiller, chairman and chief executive officer of YankeeNets. "There may be some other options. This one seems to be the best business and economic model. A hockey team is the model that seems to have worked successfully throughout the country."

YankeeNets is said to be closing in on a $175 million deal to buy the Devils from John McMullen. That would give the company three teams, enough to launch its own regional sports channel, either alone or in partnership with an existing network.

The Yankees' $486 million, 12-year contract with Madison Square Garden Network, a division of Cablevision Systems Corp., expires after this season. The Nets' deal with Fox Sports New York, also controlled by Cablevision, expires after the 2001-02 season. The Devils' contract with FSNY runs through 2006-07.

"My expectation is we will be an integral part of a network," Schiller said. "Whether that network is owned entirely or shared is a question."

Schiller said he expected a resolution in the next few months.

Under the structure of YankeeNets, the teams are run by their principal owners: George Steinbrenner with the Yankees, and Lewis Katz and Ray Chambers with the Nets.

Katz and Chambers have committed to helping revive downtown Newark but McMullen has wanted an arena in Hoboken. New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman says a single-sport venue is unlikely to get her support for government financing -- Newark has requested up to $70 million.

"Newark is a specific objective of our group," Schiller said. "Our goal is to place an arena downtown."

Schiller wouldn't touch the issue of Yankee Stadium, and whether the ballpark should be refurbished or a new ballpark built in Manhattan or New Jersey.

"The decision of when and where a stadium will be is up to George," he said.

Schiller, 60, is a former commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He quit as president of Time Warner's Turner Sports in October to join YankeeNets.

At the time of the merger, there was speculation YankeeNets would sell stock to the public, joining the Cleveland Indians, Boston Celtics and others.

"There's no immediate plans to make any public offering," said Schiller, who joked with his staff about another idea of how to raise capital, this one involving the company's television rights. "If we want to get maximum value, maybe we should put it at auction on one of those Internet sites."