Out With the Old: The Igloo Edition

Mellon Arena, formerly known as Civic Auditorium and Civic Arena, will close at the conclusion of the Pittsburgh Penguin’s season. When the Penguins win Lord Stanley’s Cup (or, shudder to think, get eliminated), it’s lights out for the arena. The trouble is no one knows when that is going to happen. Could be tonight, if the Penguins lose to the Canadiens. Or not.

The place has had a few names. Originally built for Civic Light Opera, it was Civic Auditorium, later Civic Arena. Following the trend of so many sports venues, it was renamed Mellon Arena in 1999.

Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh

The arena has a ridiculously cool address (66 Mario Lemieux Place) but it is also one of the smallest and oldest arenas in the NHL. I know that last part because getting tickets to a Pens game is either impossible or prohibitively expensive. Barring a miracle, my son will never see the Penguins play there. His only memory of the place will be Disney on Ice’s Finding Nemo. This pains me.

Perhaps the thing the Igloo is best known for is the stainless steel retractable roof, the first in a major sports arena. The last time the roof opened, and the first time it opened for hockey, was in 1994. It wasn’t a Penguins game, though. It was the Phantoms, a now-defunct roller hockey team. The roof construction also enables the interior to be free of support beams, so there are no obstructed views. There is a facebook group hoping to convince the Penguins to open the roof during the playoffs but I wouldn’t bet on it. The scoreboard would have to be removed.

The Igloo

I’m not a native of Pittsburgh so I don’t have all the childhood memories held by Yinzers. So I did what any good fan of social media would do. I asked Twitter what would be missed most about our Igloo.

From AccessClosing:

The best thing about the Civic/Mellon Arena was Mario on skates. I’ve already been missing that for a while.

From ChachiSays:

The shape. Ya know, the way you can easily pick it out in the skyline on a clear night sky.

And finally, from Andrea Shockling:

I’m going to miss the chance to take Avi to events in the same place I grew up going to Pens games, Sesame Street Live and concerts. I’m really looking forward to the new arena, but there’s something awesome about taking your own child to a venue you experienced as a kid. He’ll never really get the chance to stare up at the roof, thinking and wishing and hoping that maybe THIS time it’ll open! Like I did, everytime I was there as a child.

The first event at the Igloo was Ice Capades. The first event at Consol Energy Center will be Lady Gaga. Draw your own conclusions.

[Photo: Top - courtesy of Talke Photography under Creative Commons; bottom, courtesy Getty images]