Construction and Design
The US$ 22 million ($171 million in 2012 dollars) arena was completed for the CLO in 1961. Mayor David L. Lawrence had publicly announced plans for a "civic theater" as early as February 8, 1953 after years of public pressure had built after CLO president, civic leader and owner of Kaufmann's department store Edgar J. Kaufmann announced his intention on December 1, 1948 to find a new home for the group. Funding was provided by a combination of public and private money, including grants from Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, and Kaufmann. The arena's design incorporated 2,950 tons of stainless steel from Pittsburgh.
To make room for the arena, the city used eminent domain to displace 8,000 residents and 400 businesses from the lower Hill District. Demolition began in 1955 and was finished by 1960. On July 21, 1959 a steel strike halted work on the arena and delayed its opening date.
The Arena was designed for the CLO, which previously held productions at Pitt Stadium. The roof, which is supported by a 260-foot (79 m) arch, is free of internal support leaving no obstruction for the seats within. The roof, which has a diameter of 415 feet (126 m), is divided into eight sections. Six of the sections could fold underneath two—in 2½ minutes—making the Civic Arena the world's first major indoor sports stadium with a retractable roof. A total of 42 trucks mounted on 78 wheels, 30 of which are individually driven, support and move the six moveable sections. The trucks, gear motors and 480-volt AC motor drive that moves the roof sections were designed and manufactured by Heyl & Patterson Inc., a local specialist engineering firm. The stadium's capacity fluctuates depending on the event being hosted, but has increased due to additions between 1972 and 1991. The arena originally consisted only of lower bowl seating, but over time, upper decks were installed in the arena's "end zones" to increase capacity. In December 1999, Mellon Financial purchased the Arena's naming rights in a 10 year, $18 million agreement, which renamed the arena Mellon Arena.
The original center scoreboard, an electromechnical scoreboard with digital clock display which appears in the movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, was replaced during the 1986 renovations by a White Way Sign scoreboard with a black-and-white three-line matrix animation/messageboard on each side, which appears in Sudden Death. White Way also created the arena's final center scoreboard, this one with a Sony JumboTron videoboard on each side, which remained for the arena's final sixteen years of use.
Read more about this topic: Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)
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