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| Former names | Civic Auditorium (1961) Civic Arena (1961–1999; 2010–2011) Mellon Arena (December 1999 – June 2010) |
|---|---|
| Location | 66 Mario Lemieux Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219-3504 |
| Coordinates | 40°26′30″N 79°59′24″W / 40.44167°N 79.99000°W |
| Owner | Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County |
| Operator | SMG |
| Capacity | Ice hockey: 16,940 Hockey SRO: 17,132 Basketball: 17,537 Concert:
|
| Field size | 250 ft × 120 ft (76 m × 37 m)[2] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 12, 1958 |
| Opened | September 17, 1961 |
| Renovated | 1986 ($19.5 million) Summer 1993[2] |
| Closed | June 26, 2010 |
| Demolished | September 26, 2011 – March 31, 2012 |
| Construction cost | US$22 million ($227 million in 2023 dollars[3]) |
| Architect | Mitchell & Ritchey Architects |
| Structural engineer | Ammann & Whitney |
| General contractor | Dick Corporation[4] |
| Tenants | |
| Pittsburgh Rens (ABL) 1961–1963 Pittsburgh Hornets (AHL) 1961–1967 Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera 1961-1973 Duquesne Dukes (NCAA) 1964–1988 Pittsburgh Pipers/Condors (ABA) 1967–1968, 1969–1972 Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 1967–2010 Pittsburgh Triangles (WTT) 1974–1976 Pittsburgh Spirit (MISL) 1978–1986 Pittsburgh Gladiators (AFL) 1987–1990 Pittsburgh Bulls (MILL) 1990–1993 Pittsburgh Phantoms (RHI) 1994 Pittsburgh Stingers (CISL) 1994–1995 Pittsburgh CrosseFire (NLL) 2000 Pittsburgh Xplosion (ABA) 2005–2006 | |
The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, from 1967 to 2010.[5]
Constructed in 1961 for use by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO), it was the brainchild of department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann. It was the first retractable roof major-sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 square feet (16,000 m2), constructed with nearly 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel and supported solely by a massive 260-foot-long (79 m) cantilevered arm on the exterior.[2] Even though it was designed and engineered as a retractable-roof dome, the operating cost and repairs to the hydraulic jacks halted all full retractions after 1995, and the roof stayed permanently closed after 2001.[6] The first roof opening was during a July 4, 1962, Carol Burnett show to which she exclaimed "Ladies and Gentlemen ... I present the sky!"[7]
The Civic Arena hosted numerous concerts, the circus, political and religious rallies, roller derbies as well as contests in hockey, basketball, fish tournament weigh-ins, pro tennis, boxing, wrestling, lacrosse, football, ice skating championships, kennel shows, and soccer. The structure was used as the backdrop for several major Hollywood films, most prominently Sudden Death in 1995. Prior to its demise, it was known as Mellon Arena, named for Mellon Financial, specifically American businessman and 49th Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon, which purchased the naming rights in 1999. Their naming rights expired on August 1, 2010, and the arena once again adopted the name of Civic Arena.[8]
The Civic Arena closed on June 26, 2010. The former Mellon naming rights expired soon after, and the Penguins and all other events moved across the street to the new Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena). After various groups declined historic status for the venue, it was demolished between September 2011 and March 2012. In its place, existing public parking lots in the area were expanded over the entire site. Two of the many streets stricken from the city's street plan when the arena was originally built were subsequently re-extended back through the site: Wylie Avenue and Fullerton Street.[9] The Penguins have the rights to redevelop the property and a preliminary plan exists for residential units, retail space and office space.[10]
- ^ Seidling, Jason (April 8, 2010). "Mellon Arena: The House That Lemieux Built". Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux Group, LP. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Arena: History". Mellon Arena. 2007. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections". University of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
08mediawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Mellon Arena roof may open for final show". post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014.
- ^ Eberson, Sharon (May 30, 2010). "Arena timeline – Highlights of 50 years of entertainment – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Belko, Mark (June 24, 2010). "Arena will lose Mellon name in August". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Belko, Mark. "Ceremony marks reopening of link between Downtown and Hill District". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PG Publishing Co., Inc. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- ^ "Penguins' plans for Civic Arena site hit snag – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013.