Mellon Arena

The Mellon Arena (known as Pittsburgh Civic Arena from 1961-1999, also informally known as "The Igloo") is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is home to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and was formerly home to the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL, Pittsburgh Pipers and Pittsburgh Condors of the ABA and Pittsburgh Spirit of the MISL, among others. The arena currently seats 16,958 for ice hockey, standing room only of 17,138, with 56 luxury suites and 1,696 club seats.

The arena is currently the oldest one in use in the NHL, completed in 1961 at a cost of $22 million. Oddly enough, the stadium was not originally intended for sports, but primarily to host the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, which had previously performed at Pitt Stadium, but had tired of having performances rained out. The building was - and remains - unique, and well ahead of its time. It was built with a retractable dome made of six stainless steel panels, five of which would shift under the sixth in two and a half minutes when the weather was sufficiently pleasant.

The Civic Light Opera did not stay in the building long, however, as it became clear that the acoustics were too poor for its use, and it left by 1968. The AHL's Hornets were replaced by the expansion Penguins in 1967. The stadium was gradually expanded, with renovations in 1975 and 1993 adding balconies at each end and building luxury suites and club seating, increasing the overall seating from 12,000 to over 17,000. The 1995 addition of a new scoreboard, though, robbed the stadium of its signature element - the roof can no longer be opened and closed completely.

That same year, the facility hosted World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) SummerSlam. Mellon Arena has gone on to host other WWE Pay-Per-View events, including King of the Ring in 1998, Unforgiven in 2001, and No Way Out in 2005. The WWE's visits over the years resulted in a record attendance for Mellon Arena, 18,150.

In recent years, the age of the arena has been a problem. Any visitor to the arena soon realizes that the old building has seen its better years. For fans, it is quite uncomfortable and lacks the amenities of modern venues. Over the years, additions and renovations to the arena not initially envisioned have contributed to the arena's unusual layout. For example, in the highest lower level seats, in certain areas, nothing more than a green tarp and chain link fence serve as a back wall, preventing fans from falling to the main concourse below. In either "end zone" of the arena, the lower level seats furthest from the floor have their view obstructed by the overhanging upper level balconies, requiring the aid of televisions installed in the ceiling to see the action. On March 19, 2006 during a hockey game between the Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the arena suffered blackouts, caused by electrical fires on off-site grounds, forcing the game to be delayed (although this problem was likely unrelated to the arena's age). Furthermore, various seats in the arena must be covered with a tarp, due to leaky sections of the roof.

For the Penguins, the primary tenant, the old arena is too costly and does not produce enough revenue to keep the team profitable. The arena has also been unable to attract other events, such as music concerts, to Pittsburgh. The Penguins are currently in danger of moving the franchise from Pittsburgh if a new arena cannot be built before the team's lease with the arena expires. The chances of the city keeping its hockey franchise hinges on a gambling proposition by Isle of Capri Casinos. The plan proposes the company, if awarded a license to build slots in the city of Pittsburgh, would contribute an estimated $290 million towards building a new arena. Penguins fans are providing local support for the Isle of Capri's plan in an effort to keep their team in Pittsburgh.

The arena has previously hosted NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games, six Atlantic Ten Conference men's basketball tournaments (1978-83), and until the construction of the Petersen Events Center, was the alternate home court of the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball teams. From its inception it has been an alternate home court for the Duquesne University men's basketball team, and was used as their primary home from 1965 to 1988. Beginning in November 2005, the Pittsburgh Xplosion basketball team will play at both arenas.

The arena was also the setting for the 1995 Jean Claude Van Damme action film Sudden Death, which was set during a fictional Game 7 Stanley Cup Final. One notable point about the movie is that the climax featured the roof being opened during the hockey game (surprisingly, without any of the fans noticing). However, the roof had been disabled from opening for years, and was never even opened for a hockey game.

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