Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-23-2010, 12:58 PM
 
Location: Hooterville PA
712 posts, read 1,960,045 times
Reputation: 304

Advertisements

You can be pretty sure that the politicians and the local business people will make a profit out of it - no matter what they do with it.

My opinion is to leave it there and use it for concerts and craft fairs and public interest shows such as a museum. Why tear it down - just so the city can make a couple of dollars off it.

I would imagine that they would make a pretty good buck, making it into paid parking, but that is not the bottom dollar. We tear down too many historic places to make room for new places that aren't really needed or appreciated.

Just look at 3 Rivers Stadium.

Surely the Pittsburgh Pirates didn't need a new stadium to play in.
They could play that lousy in Schenley Park, and they would probably draw more fans too!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-23-2010, 01:19 PM
 
809 posts, read 2,399,698 times
Reputation: 330
Quote:
Originally Posted by Honest Bob View Post
You can be pretty sure that the politicians and the local business people will make a profit out of it - no matter what they do with it.

My opinion is to leave it there and use it for concerts and craft fairs and public interest shows such as a museum. Why tear it down - just so the city can make a couple of dollars off it.

I would imagine that they would make a pretty good buck, making it into paid parking, but that is not the bottom dollar. We tear down too many historic places to make room for new places that aren't really needed or appreciated.

Just look at 3 Rivers Stadium.

Surely the Pittsburgh Pirates didn't need a new stadium to play in.
They could play that lousy in Schenley Park, and they would probably draw more fans too!
Would you have elected to keep Three Rivers Stadium rather than imploding it and making the land useful for other purposes?

I don't understand the people who really want to save the Mellon Arena. The arena is an eyesore. It's going to be expensive to maintain. Who will pay for it's upkeep once the primary tenant leaves? The Consol Energy Center is usable for concerts, as will the new amphitheater on the north shore. The land that the arena sits on would be put to better use as an extension of downtown development. A place for people to live, work, shop, and play.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 01:43 PM
 
Location: North Oakland
9,150 posts, read 10,821,269 times
Reputation: 14503
Quote:
Originally Posted by gameguy56 View Post
Would you have elected to keep Three Rivers Stadium rather than imploding it and making the land useful for other purposes?
What was the purpose behind blowing up Three Rivers? It was only 30 years old, no? I left Pgh. right after it opened, and came back right before it closed, so in my memory, at least, it was as "brand new" as anything gets here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 01:56 PM
 
Location: southwestern PA
22,247 posts, read 47,165,320 times
Reputation: 47133
Three Rivers HAD to go to make room for the new stadiums (stadia?).

There is no need to rush and demolish to Igloo... NO development is on board for that site.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 02:06 PM
 
Location: Just East of the Southern Portion of the Western Part of PA
1,272 posts, read 3,691,226 times
Reputation: 1511
Quote:
Originally Posted by Honest Bob View Post

Just look at 3 Rivers Stadium.

Surely the Pittsburgh Pirates didn't need a new stadium to play in.
They could play that lousy in Schenley Park, and they would probably draw more fans too!
PNC Park was necessary to keep the Pirates in Pittsburgh. PERIOD.

Look around the football and baseball leagues and tell me how many of those old cookie cutter multi-use stadiums are still being used. There are a few exceptions for truly unique and historic structures like Fenway, Wrigley, ect.

The trend was to build new stadiums, and you either keep up or get left behind. See also, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As for the Arena - I don't have a problem with discussing options. There is no hurry to do anything with the igloo, so why not hold some forums and discussions on the next steps? Once its gone, no building like it will ever be built again.

I cant think of a single example where a city replaced an old arena or stadium with a new one, but then decided to keep the old one around. It usually just doesnt make economic sense to do so. The old building is expensive to maintain, and gets in the way of most development plans.

If it is decided that it is better for the city to bring that sucker down, then so be it. Just don't make any knee-jerk decisions.

Last edited by Johnny C; 08-23-2010 at 02:14 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Hempfield Twp
780 posts, read 1,375,594 times
Reputation: 210
They did it in Houston and I believe Joel Osteens concregation bought it and turned it into a church. We could have the most novel catholic church in the country, that no one would go to!

Have a lottery and charge $5 a ticket and the winner gets to push the plunger to set off the explosives to bring the igloo to the ground. All proceeds go to a charity or charities.

Why mothball something and have to pay for its upkeep, no matter how minimal, when you can just get rid of the eyesore once and for all. You know it is getting demo'd one way or the other and you might as well do it now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Perry South, Pittsburgh, PA
475 posts, read 567,955 times
Reputation: 188
Shooting range.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Crafton, PA
1,173 posts, read 2,175,763 times
Reputation: 623
Philadelphia is the only place I can think of where a new venue was built and the old venue remained. The Spectrum survived well over a decade after the new arena was built. Two differences: Philly had a market for a second arena (larger number of big concerts, events, AHL team in town), we do not. Secondly, Philly's sports complex is quite removed from downtown. Their stadium real estate is not nearly as valuable/vital as the Igloo site.

There are plenty of other top notch entertainment venues around town now, especially with the opening of the new venue on the north shore. If the Igloo remains, the parking lots more than likely remain, which continue to serve as a break between downtown and points east (nevermind the fact that the lots are ugly). Do we really think anything will utilize the Igloo that can afford to pay the massive utility and maintenance bills? And wasn't turning the land over to the Pens part of our deal to keep them here in town when they were pressuring for a new arena?

I would hope that the entire street grid can be restored between downtown and the lower hill. I don't want the quick-brik crap that has infested the north shore. I'd like to see much more thought thrown in. Perhaps a high rise or two, some condo space, and some mixed-use development.
Add to that some sort of small park/square and the area could really be beautiful. Hopefully they can take the next step and cover over a few blocks of the crosstown boulevard. Maybe someday the downtown-Oakland "spine line" can come through the area with a station. I think the possibilities are endless and can't take place with the arena in place.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 04:00 PM
 
Location: Morgantown, WV
1,000 posts, read 2,338,722 times
Reputation: 999
Three Rivers was crap...all of those cookie cutter stadiums were absolutely terrible, especially for baseball. I think RFK is the only one left standing, the whole design and theory for those "multi-use" stadiums was pathetic...easily considered the worst era for sports fascilities by a long shot.

As for the Civic Arena, it can't be used for concerts because it's design for sound projection is a total failure. Ever see a show in there? It sounds like @ss...basically the building was originally designed for hte purpose of housing the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, however they left quickly due to the poor acoustics. The Civic Arena is a lost cause in terms of concerts, and that's what the new arena is for anyway. As for conventions, well...not going to happen considering that we have a stand alone convention center for that.

Let's face it people....the Civic Arena has NO USE in its current form. If kept, it needs to be modified and partially torn down as part of ANY conversion process for new use...so why spend more money to convert such an old structure when you can literally demolish it and market the location for reuse for less money? There's nothing special about that place, 75% of its lifetime was spent housing the Penguins while they were the worst team in hockey and three Stanley Cups does NOT make that place some sort of sports shrine, especially considering that Texas Stadium and Yankee Stadium are both no longer standing.

Tear it down...save the truss and maybe part of the roof to keep on site as a memorial...and reconnect the city grid while turning that incredibly valuable piece of land into something worthwhile that can spark downtown's regrowth and development towards mixed and residential use. This is an opportunity, so let's not blow it over Yinzer Nostalgia...Luke and his chronies are actually right about this one.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2010, 04:12 PM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,861,408 times
Reputation: 2910
There actually are preliminary plans to use the site. The Penguins have the development rights, and are required to use a certain portion each year until the whole thing is redeveloped over ten years. They have released a basic redevelopment plan, but the fate of the Arena needs to be decided before they can move forward with approving an actual master plan.

Now it is possible you could make a decision on the fate of the Arena and approve a master plan, but still wait until the last possible moment to demolish the Arena. But at this point, I'm not sure what purpose that would serve.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top