Pittsburgh to build new civic arena for Pens, concerts
April 1, 2004
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Despite one of their most disappointing seasons in team history, the Pittsburgh Penguins are not only staying in Pittsburgh, they are getting a new home.
Penguins CEO Mario Lemieux, General Manager Craig Patrick, coach Eddie Olczyk and Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy announced at a press conference today that funding had been approved for a new multi-purpose arena for Pittsburgh. "We're thrilled to announce that we are finally taking the first steps toward a new arena for the city of Pittsburgh," said Olczyk. "As many great memories as I have both from playing in and coaching in the Mellon Arena, the time has come to replace it with something newer and with better facilities both for participants of events held at the arena, as well as our guests attending those events."
"The most exciting part about this arena", said Lemieux, "is that it will be the first of its kind with a retractable roof." The birth of this idea is apparently based in the recent trend for baseball and now football stadiums to have retractable roofs. "Obviously, we'd keep the roof closed if it was extremely cold out, but what could be more enjoyable on a seasonal October or March day than sitting in the sun and watching a game of hockey?" posed Lemieux. "We expect this aspect of the new arena alone to attract thousands of fans per season." Lemieux also added that the Penguins will be the first tenant of the arena, and a lease deal is nearly complete that will keep the team in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.
"Whenever music artists come to town, they would have the convenience and facilities of a permanent arena to set up their equipment and for the artists to prepare for their performance, but with the atmosphere and acoustics of an open-air stadium," said Mayor Murphy. "An option like this would attract bands and artists to the new arena and fans downtown during the summer months", when concert tours usually play at the Post-Gazette Pavilion, 30 miles outside of the city in Burgettstown. "Imagine attending a concert in the middle of summer, but with a cool breeze blowing from the air conditioning system, as opposed to standing in a field or sweating under the [non-air conditioned] canopy of the Pavilion," Murphy continued. "Imagine going to say, a monster truck event at the arena, but the noise and fumes from the trucks venting up to the sky, instead of being confined within the building. This is something that has never been done before, and when other cities see this and build their civic arenas in this fashion, we will be able to proudly say that we did it first in Pittsburgh."
Sites are still being considered, but criteria for a site for the new arena will include additional adjacent land for retail and commercial development. "We don't want to build the arena out in the middle of nowhere. The Penguins are a huge part of Pittsburgh and would be the arena's main tenants, so we want to keep it in the city," said Lemieux. "By that token, we want the area around the arena to be a place people want to come the afternoon before the game, as well as stay around afterward." Talks are already underway with potential tenants for both the arena and nearby areas.
It is believed that the TGIFriday's restaurant chain is being courted for a location within the arena. The company has several locations around the country in baseball stadiums under the name "Friday's Front Row", where the restaurant is located within the confines of the ball park. These locations are open year round, but offer special patio seating with unobstructed views to watch the game, selling a table for four for the event at a price which includes a credit towards the meal. If the deal were to come to fruition, it would be the company's first installation in a hockey arena.
In addition, both Patrick and Lemieux are key members of a committee in Pittsburgh looking to bring the NBA to Pittsburgh, whether as the league's next city for expansion, or the potential new home to an existing NBA team. There is also a group looking into petitioning the Arena Football League for a team as well.
Groundbreaking is planned to take place early May 2004, and the arena is expected to open in time for the final game of the 2006 NHL regular season. The group hopes to announce the site for the new arena within the next couple weeks.