Pittsburgh Civic Arena
| Pittsburgh Civic Arena | |
|---|---|
| |
| the venue as it looked on March 21, 2011 - copyright by Maureen Sweeney | |
| Location: | Pittsburgh, PA, USA |
| Capacity: | 17.000 |
Introduction
The Pittsburgh Civic Arena first opened on 17 Sept 1961, intended to be the new home for the local Civic Light Opera (the CLO later abandoned it, claiming inferior acoustics). The Civic Arena was a costly redevelopment project, and also involved a controversial demolition of a large residential area in the predominantly African-American Hill District, forcing the relocation of over 1200 residents. The Civic Arena showcased an architectural and engineering marvel for the time: a retractable stainless steel roof with no interior supports, divided radially into eight sections and supported by a cantilever arm arching 260 feet. Also home to local hockey teams (first the AHL Pittsburgh Hornets, then the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins), the Civic Arena was later nicknamed the “Igloo” by locals. Later, Pittsburgh based Mellon Bank purchased the naming rights in 1999, and it was then known as “Mellon Arena.” Mellon’s naming rights expired in 2010. Over the years, the Civic Arena as an entertainment facility hosted a wide range of musical acts, circuses, basketball, wrestling, and other events, and increased its internal capacity from about 10,500 to 17,000. However, with the building of a new $321 million CONSOL Energy Center directly across the street, the Civic Arena closed in 2010; the last paid event in the Civic Arena was a concert by James Taylor and Carole King on 26 Jul 2010. Movements to designate the Civic Arena as a historic structure have repeatedly failed, and in the fall of 2010, the Arena’s owner, the County Sports & Exhibition Authority voted to demolish the Civic Arena, in order to pursue development featuring an urban street grid, including housing, which would unite the Hill District with the Downtown area of Pittsburgh. Another historic nomination was made by preservationists in 2011, but has again been rejected by the local historic and planning commissions; if the city council likewise rejects the historic nomination in the summer of 2011, then the Arena will be demolished shortly thereafter.
Performance timeline
The following Police, Sting, Andy Summers or Stewart Copeland-related concerts took place at this venue:
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Trivia
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See also
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External links
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References
source: Maureen Sweeney
