Overview

The new multi-purpose arena will be owned by the Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA) and managed by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins will have primary responsibility for design and construction. A team of professional service firms has been put in place to manage the construction process.

HOK Sport has been designated by the Penguins as the principal architect. ICON Venue has been hired by the Penguins to provide Developer's Representative services and PJ Dick-Hunt will serve as at risk Construction Manager. The SEA has contracted with a joint venture, Oxford-Chester Engineers, to provide Owner Representative Services.

In March 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) was agreed to among the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, the SEA, and the Lemieux Group LP to finance the development of a new $290 million multi-purpose arena.

The arena will be situated south of the current Mellon Arena on a site bounded by:

• Washington Place to the west
• Fifth Avenue to the south
• Centre Avenue to the north

The arena ensures that the Penguins hockey team will remain in Pittsburgh for 29.5 years after the arena is built, and will also provide an exciting venue for large concerts and other events. The arena will seat approximately 18,500 hockey fans at capacity, approximately 1,000 more than the current Mellon Arena.

The development of the arena is divided into 3 separate projects. These are:

• Site Preparation
• New Arena
• Garage

Key Facts

Please note that this information represents current estimations and is subject to change.

Features

The Penguins are the developer of the arena, and have hired ICON Venue Group as the owner's representative and HOK Sport as the architect.

The arena's development plan consists of the following features:

• 18,500 seat multi-purpose arena
• Retail space along Fifth Avenue
• Total of 2.5 acres of public open space
• 500 car four-story parking garage
• 150 car surface parking lot and event staging area

The arena will have three public entrances:

• Corner of Fifth Avenue and Washington Place
• Centre Avenue next to the Church of the Epiphany
• Centre Avenue near intersection with Lemieux Place

A site plan and further descriptions can be found in the Master Plan.

The arena's project cost is $290 million. It is funded by a 30 year revenue bond and backed by annual payments of $7.5 million from the Pennsylvania Economic Development and Tourism Fund, $7.5 million from PITG Gaming, LLC, and $4.1 million annual rent from Pittsburgh Penguins. The $290 million includes both soft and hard costs. To the extent the guaranteed maximum price (“GMP”) plus soft costs exceeds $290 million, but is less than $310 million, the Commonwealth and the Penguins will split excess costs. Once the GMP is agreed to any cost overruns are the responsibility of the Penguins.

In addition, the Authority and the Penguins are investigating opportunities to use green principles to develop the new multi-purpose arena. The Authority and the Penguins hope to pursue LEED Certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

Schedule

Master Plan

The SEA, the Department of City Planning, and the Penguins initiated a public planning process to engage neighborhood residents and key stakeholders in developing a Master Plan for the new arena. The Penguins hired Urban Design Associates (“UDA”) to manage the public planning process, which included community participation meetings & focus groups, Contextual Design Advisory Panel (CDAP) briefings, Planning Commission (PC) briefings and hearings, and submission of a master plan. The public planning process was extensive in scope.

On November 14th, 2007, UDA delivered the initial Master Plan submission to the Planning Commission on behalf of the Penguins and the SEA. More information and documents related to the arena's public planning process can be found on the City of Pittsburgh 's Department of City Planning website.

Public Meeting #1: Kick-Off Meeting

June 4, 2007
Held at the Igloo Club at the Mellon Arena, the purpose of the meeting was to initiate an extensive public participation process so that the Planning Commission will be informed of the community's concerns and support prior to official action on the Master Plan.

Site Visit

August 4, 2007
The next step in the public participation process took place on August 4, 2007 with a site tour of the proposed location for the new arena. Neighborhood residents and community groups joined staff and consultants of the SEA, Penguins, and the Department of City Planning.

Focus Group Meetings

August 2007
Seven focus groups were held in August 2007. The purpose of these meetings was to: present the new arena's proposed site plan; review the Parking and Traffic Studies; and engage in a facilitated discussion. Minutes and feedback can be found at the City of Pittsburgh 's Department of City Planning website.

Public Meeting #2

August 28th, 2007
A second public meeting was held on August 28, 2007 at Mellon Arena to present the results of the focus group meetings.

Planning Commission Meetings, Briefings & Hearing

The official Planning Commission approval process for a master development plan includes: meetings with the Department of City Planning staff; meetings with the Contextual Design Advisory Panel (CDAP); Planning Commission Briefing; Planning Commission Hearing; Planning Commission Hearing and Action. The schedule of PC meetings can be found at the City of Pittsburgh 's Department of City Planning's website.

In addition to the public planning process for the multi-purpose arena, the SEA, in coordination with the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County workforce development personnel, organized a series of career-building workshops in August-September 2007 to promote career opportunities in the building trades and other growth industries. More information on the SEA's support of workforce development programs throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County can be found here.

New Arena Design Development Presentation (February 28, 2008).

Last Updated 3/7/08

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