Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)
Civic Arena (formerly the Civic Auditorium and Mellon Arena, nicknamed The Igloo) 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. It was the first retractable roof major-sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 sq. feet and constructed with nearly 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel, and supported solely by a massive 260-foot-long cantilevered arm on the exterior. Even though it was designed and engineered as a retractable-roof dome, the hydraulic jacks never functioned consistently, thus keeping the roof permanently closed in 1994, after filming of Sudden Death was finished production. The first roof opening was during a July 4, 1962 Carol Burnett show to which she exclaimed "Ladies and Gentleman . . . I present the sky!".
Constructed in 1961, for use by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO), under the brainchild of an area department-store magnate, 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 (Pittsburgh Triangles of the WTT) in the mid-1970s, boxing, wrestling, lacrosse, football, ice skating championships, kennel shows, and soccer. The structure has been 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, formerly named for Mellon Financial, which purchased the naming rights in 1999. Naming rights expired on August 1, 2010 and the arena once again is known as the Civic Arena.
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. The arena's owner, the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, initially voted in September 2010 to demolish the building in 2011. However, in November 2010, the arena was nominated for Pittsburgh historic status at the last minute, and demolition was delayed. A final vote by the Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission on the nomination was held on March 2, 2011. The result was the HRC declining the arena for historic status. After votes from City Planning and Pittsburgh City Council also declined historic status, a federal lawsuit was filed by those who wish to save the arena in order to prevent its demolition. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals denied the lawsuit and demolition began on September 26, 2011. Demolition on the arena was completed March 31, 2012.
Read more about Civic Arena (Pittsburgh): Construction and Design, History and Events, Naming, Replacement, Debate, and Demolition, Use As A Filming/recording Location
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