PITTSBURGH -- For the first time ever, Uptown Pittsburgh community leaders stepped inside the new arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins under construction Monday night.

Take Sneak Peek Inside: Raw Video | Slideshow

The $290 million Consol Energy Center is set to open in 2010, and team officials meet every three months with community members to share a progress report.

"We were trying to make sure the community is updated with the progress of the construction of the new arena," said Ron Porter, a senior consultant for the Penguins.

For the first time, residents in the city's Uptown and Hill District neighborhoods got a chance Monday night to tour the new arena, which will bring a new hotel and restaurant.

Community leaders said they want some of the new jobs to go to minorities.

"That hotel will hire about 40 to 50 people for construction, 40 to 50 for the restaurant," said Carl Redwood, chairman of the One Hill Neighborhood Coalition. "We want to make sure those residents get a fair shot (at employment)."

"I feel that they have just haven't realized that's it going to be more important for them to do more (than) what they have," said Renee Aldrich, co-chairwoman of Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh.

Business owners are even getting ideas, like Tony Williams, who owns 150 vacant lots.

"We want figure out what works, (what) compliments the arena best. We're leaning toward residential, maybe build new apartment buildings," Williams said.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Epiphany Catholic Church on Centre Avenue. Residents have already said they can't wait to see the progress at that point.

---

• Penguins Pride: More Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Headlines
• Your County: More Allegheny County News Headlines
• RSS: Add Us To Your iGoogle Or My Yahoo Page

---