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Pens' Vision For New Igloo Unveiled

Apartments, Offices, Parks Planned For Current Site

POSTED: 8:40 a.m. EST March 11, 2002
UPDATED: 7:55 p.m. EST March 11, 2002

The Penguins unveiled plans Monday for a $225 million arena to replace Mellon Arena. The only thing missing: funding.

 SURVEY
By what means should a new hockey arena be funded?
Taxpayer money
Private money
Combination of both

HOK Sports, which designed PNC Park, envisions an 18,188-seat arena with a large glass atrium and plenty of luxury seats, restaurants and concession stands. Mellon Arena, which opened in 1961 as the Civic Arena, seats about 17,000.

drawing

The new arena would be built across across Centre Avenue from the Igloo, partially on land that once housed St. Francis Central Hospital. A group led by Mario Lemieux purchased the former hospital site for $8 million.

As part of the arena proposal, the Penguins showed off an extensive $480 million, 15-year redevelopment plan. It includes an apartment complex, 300 townhouses, an office building, parks, retail space, parking garages and a hotel, all to be built where Mellon Arena now stands.

Ken Sawyer, the Penguins' chief financial officer, said the project would generate enormous economic growth for the area.

DISCUSSION

However, the city and Allegheny County have told the Penguins they have no money available for arena projects. The state allocated up to $60 million several years ago, but the money must be freed by Gov. Mark Schweiker.

Because an arena hosts hundreds of events a year, unlike a baseball park or football stadium, county Chief Executive Jim Roddey said there should be more private financing for this project than was used to build PNC Park and Heinz Field.

About two-thirds of the Pirates' ballpark was funded by taxes or fees. The Steelers paid about 40 percent of their stadium costs.

When Lemieux took over the team, he and his investors signed a deal that calls for the city's Sports and Exhibition Authority to develop a financing and development plan for a new arena by June 30.

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