Mellon Arena Roof Open

The 260 foot dome was divided into eight sections two of which could slide under the others making the arena the first one ever with a retractable roof.

Mellon arena roof open.

The civic arena originally known as the civic auditorium and in it s later years named mellon arena was built in 1961 as part of the twenty year renaissance i redevelopment of the city landscape. A ha recommended for you. It was the day of or the day after rush played there. Built in 1961 of 2 950 tons of pittsburgh steel the arena features the largest retractable stainless steel roof in the world.

You could see the orange upper seats from outside. It s maximum opening would be about 75 open with the roof leaves under the support arm. Demolition of civic arena roof hits snag duration. The arena which covered 170 000 square feet had the first retractable roof ever on a major sports venue in the world.

The civic arena formerly the civic auditorium and later mellon arena was an arena located in downtown pittsburgh pennsylvania. Mellon arena set up home opener 2009 2010 season duration. The grateful dead appeared eight times. It was the first retractable roof major sports venue in the world covering 170 000 square feet cons.

Constructed in 1961 for use by the pittsburgh civic light opera it was the brainchild of department store owner edgar j. Civic arena later renamed mellon arena was torn down across 2011 and 2012. On august 25 1994 the civic arena roof opened to the space odessy theme song while the phantoms played the minnesota arctic blast. Wtae tv pittsburgh 1 239 views.

I walked past it 1979 or 80 and it was at max open. It was the first time the stainless steel dome was opened for a professional hockey game. The dome on the civic arena is open a crack. â in 1999 pittsburgh based mellon bank purchased the naming rights to the building and renamed it mellon arena.

The roof is 170 000 square feet and is designed to open or close in 2 5 minutes. It was crazy looking to me since it drastically changed the appearance of the arena. The civic arena primarily served as the home to the pittsburgh penguins the city s national hockey league franchise from 1967 to 2010. Jay roberts general manager of mellon arena smg confirmed monday that the idea is under consideration but he added there are plenty of hurdles in the way that could derail the effort.

The roof has no interior supports which means there are few obstructed view seats in the arena.