T
he developers of a proposed NBA facility in Las Vegas are touting their $690 million project as the first retractable-roof arena in sports.
They forgot about old Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the former home of the Penguins, which opened more than 50 years ago with a retractable roof.
The arena debuted in September 1961, primarily to accommodate the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and its tradition of outdoor performances. The Penguins, founded in 1967, played 33 years at The Igloo before moving across the street to new Consol Energy Center in 2010.
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Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Photo by: PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
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At the old arena, most sports events were played with the automated roof closed, although some World TeamTennis matches in the mid-1970s were played with the roof open during the summer, according to
Jimmie Sacco, executive director of stadium management at
Heinz Field. Sacco, a Pittsburgh native, worked at Civic Arena for 20 years, moving up the corporate ladder from usher to vice president of operations before moving to old
Three Rivers Stadium and, later, Heinz Field.
Civic Arena’s stainless-steel domed roof, designed by local architects James Mitchell and Dahlen Ritchey, had eight panels. To open the roof, most of the panels rotated to one side behind one section that acted as a “cantilevered arm” holding them in place, Sacco said.
When the roof was open, one side of the arena converted to a large production stage facing the city’s skyline. Another unique feature was the exhibit hall built underneath the arena floor.
The project architects designing the $22 million facility back in the 1950s “were way ahead of their time,” Sacco said. The same could be said for the Penguins and arena management.
A quarter-century ago, the NHL selected Civic Arena as the host venue for the league’s 1990 All-Star Game. Sacco and Paul Martha, the former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back who later became president of the Penguins and Civic Arena, proposed playing the All-Star Game with the roof open. At the time, it was considered a novel concept but one that some thought was unworkable.
NHL officials “looked at us like we [both] had two heads,” Sacco recalled. NBC, the network broadcasting the game, nixed the idea.
Times change. Eighteen years later, in 2008, the NHL held its first Winter Classic, and the outdoor hockey game held in stadiums has become a New Year’s Day tradition. Heinz Field played host to the 2011 Winter Classic, and Sacco, as stadium manager, played a principal role in that event.
Civic Arena, later renamed Mellon Arena, was torn down across 2011 and 2012.
In Vegas, arena developer and former NBA player Jackie Robinson has enlisted the services of sports architect HKS and structural engineer Walter P Moore, among others, to help design the retractable roof for an arena Robinson says will be open in 2017.
Robinson says he has financing but still needs a development agreement with Clark County, according to local reports.
Separately, AEG and MGM Resorts International are building a 20,000-seat arena in Las Vegas set to open in 2016.
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All told, Paciolan now has about 115 college clients.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @breakground.
