Mellon Arena

The Igloo
Former names	Civic Auditorium, Civic Arena
Location	66 Mario Lemieux Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219-3504
Coordinates	40°26′30″N 79°59′24″W / 40.44167°N 79.99°W / 40.44167; -79.99Coordinates: 40°26′30″N 79°59′24″W / 40.44167°N 79.99°W / 40.44167; -79.99
Broke ground	March 12, 1957
Opened	September 19, 1961
Owner	Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
Surface	Ice
Construction cost	US$22 million
Architect	Mitchell and Ritchey
Capacity	Ice hockey: 16,940 Hockey w/Standing Room: 17,132 Basketball: 17,537 Concert: End Stage 12,800 Center Stage 18,039
Tenants
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) (1967–present) Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (1961–88) Pittsburgh Rens (ABL) (1961–63) Pittsburgh Hornets (AHL) (1961–1967) Pittsburgh Pipers/Condors (ABA) (1967–1973) Pittsburgh Triangles (World TeamTennis) (1974–76) Eastern Eight Basketball Championship (1978–82) Pittsburgh Spirit (MISL) (1978–1980, 1981–1986) Pittsburgh Gladiators (AFL) (1987–1990) Pittsburgh Bulls (MILL) (1990–1993) Pittsburgh Phantoms (RHI) (1994) Pittsburgh Stingers (CISL) (1994–1995) Pittsburgh Piranhas (CBA) (1994–1995) NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament first and second rounds (1997, 2001, 2002) Pittsburgh CrosseFire (NLL) (2000) Pittsburgh Xplosion (CBA) (2005–2008)

Mellon Arena (formerly the Civic Auditorium and Civic Arena, nicknamed The Igloo) is an arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) franchise.^[1] Constructed in 1961 for use by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO), Mellon Arena has hosted multiple concerts, as well as hockey, basketball, tennis, boxing, wrestling, and soccer matches. The Arena was the world's first major indoor sports stadium with a retractable roof. It is named for Mellon Financial, which purchased the naming rights in 1999.

[edit] Construction and design

The US$22 million arena was built for the CLO in 1961.^[2] Funding was provided by a combination of public and private money, including grants from Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, and Edgar J. Kaufmann owner of Kaufmann's department store.^[1] The arena's design incorporated 2,950 tons of stainless steel from Pittsburgh.^[2] The Arena was designed for the CLO, which previously held productions at Pitt Stadium. The roof, which is supported by a 260 foot arch, is free of internal support leaving no obstruction for the seats within. The roof, which has a diameter of 415 feet, is divided into eight sections. Six of the sections could fold underneath two—in two and one-half minutes—making the Mellon Arena the world's first major indoor sports stadium with a retractable roof.^[3] The stadium's capacity fluctuates depending on the event being hosted, but has increased due to additions between 1972 and 1991.^[3] 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.^[4]

[edit] History and events

On September 19, 1961, the Ice Capades hosted the arena's first event. Over the years, multiple performing artists including Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, and the Grateful Dead performed at the Arena. Garth Brooks performed six straight sold-out shows in October 1997. America's first high school basketball All-Star game, The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic was held there annually between 1965 and 1992.^[5] The Beatles performed in 1964 and Elvis Presley performed at the Civic Arena in 1973 and New Years Eve 1976. On January 30, 1999, 18,150 spectators attended a World Wrestling Entertainment show, surpassing the previous attendance record at the Arena which was set at 17,764 for a Robert Plant and Jimmy Page concert in 1995. The arena was the host for SummerSlam in 1995. WWE also brought King of the Ring in 1998, WWE Unforgiven in 2001, WWE No Way Out in 2005, WWE Armageddon in 2007, and WWE Bragging Rights (formerly WWE Cyber Sunday) in 2009.^[4] Sporting events including roller hockey, boxing matches including Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson took place at the Arena. The University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University,^[6] Pittsburgh Pipers, Pittsburgh Condors, and the Harlem Globetrotters hosted basketball games at the Arena. World TeamTennis and the Pittsburgh Spirit Major Indoor Soccer League team also hosted matches at the Arena.^[1][7] The 1983 World Figure Skating Championships and first and second round games of the 1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament were held at the Arena.^[4]

[edit] Hockey

The Pittsburgh Hornets, members of the American Hockey League (AHL) played home games at the Duquesne Gardens, located in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The team played 20 seasons in the Gardens prior to its demolition, which made room for an apartment building.^[8] The Arena opened on September 17, 1961.^[8] With the Arena available, the Hornets resumed play in the 1961–62 season and went on to win the Calder Cup in the 1966–67 season.^[8]

As part of the 1967 NHL expansion, the city of Pittsburgh was selected to host one of six new franchises. With a hockey seating capacity of 12,508, Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena was eight seats over the NHL's minimum seating benchmark.^[3] Due to its outward appearance, the Arena was nicknamed "The Igloo" which led to the naming of the Penguins.^[9] The Penguins debuted at the Civic Arena on October 11, 1967 in a 2–1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Andy Bathgate scored the Penguins's first goal in the arena. The Penguins won their first game at the Arena on October 21, when they became the first expansion team to beat an original NHL franchise—besting the Chicago Blackhawks 4–2.^[10] On January 21, 1990, the Civic Arena hosted the 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game. Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux scored three goals on his first three shots—the first coming 21 seconds into the game. He later scored a fourth goal and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.^[11] The arena also hosted the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.^[12] Games of the 1991, 1992 and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, which the Penguins won, were hosted at the arena, as were three games of the 2008 Finals.^[1] The 2008 Finals marked the only occasion that the Stanley Cup was presented on Mellon Arena ice, after the Penguins were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

Panoramic view of Mellon Arena in October 2007

[edit] NCAA Tournaments

The Mellon Arena hosted the first and second round regional games of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in 1997 and 2002 and will have its successor Consol Energy Center host them in 2012. It has also been the host for the first and second-round games of the 2001 and will in 2010.

[edit] Eastern Eight Championships

For five seasons the arena hosted the March event known as the Eastern Eight Conference Championships. From 1978 to 1982 many of the current Big East Conference powers and Atlantic 10 powers fought for their conference crown at the center. For the final season, the Mellon Arena hosted a record crowd of 16,056, the third-largest conference basketball championship crowd in the nation that year. ^[13]

[edit] Replacement and demolition

As of 2009, Mellon Arena is the oldest and lowest capacity arena in the NHL by official capacity. In later years, the arena's staff was forced to use space for multiple purposes never intended in the building's original design.^[14] The Penguins franchise agreed to a deal with city and state officials to fund a new home arena for the franchise in March 2007. The Consol Energy Center will be located across the street from the site of Mellon Arena and will have a higher seating capacity.^[1] It is expected to open for the 2010–11 NHL season, at which point the Mellon Arena is scheduled for demolition.^[15]

[edit] References

• Cooper, Bruce C. (1994). Michael L. LaBlanc. ed. Professional Sports Team Histories: Hockey. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Inc.. ISBN 978-0810388628. 
• O'Brien, Jim (1994). Penguin Profiles. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: James P. O'Brien - Publishing. ISBN 0916114163. 

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mellon Arena

• Official site