A Minor League Reuse of the Igloo?

The debate over whether the city should demolish or re-use the soon-to-be Civic Arena has been in the news a little bit recently.

We at Inspire Pittsburgh support reusing the Igloo instead of giving it the wrecking ball. It is truly an architectural and cultural gem, and we should develop the parking lots to the east of the arena before making any drastic changes to the interior of the Igloo.

The problem, though, is that it still costs money to keep the lights on and the water running inside the arena until we can figure out what to do with the place.

For ideas to answer that question, we need only to look across the state to Philadelphia. When the Flyers and Sixers moved across the parking lot from the Spectrum to the CoreStates Center (now the Wells Fargo Center), the Spectrum's owners decided to keep the old barn open instead of tearing it down. That required some new teams to eat up the 80 home dates opened up by the departure of the NBA and NHL teams.

Enter AHL hockey. Comcast, which owned the old arena, the new arena, and the Flyers, purchased an AHL expansion team to play its home games at the Spectrum.

In its fourteen seasons in Philly, the Philadelphia Phantoms were one of the most successful teams in the AHL. Despite playing right across the street from an NHL team, the Phantoms averaged 6,750 fans per game from 2005-2009. Compare that to the AHL average of about 5,300 fans per game over that span.

The Spectrum was ultimately closed down for re-development in 2009, but not before fourteen years of hosting minor league hockey, indoor soccer, arena football, basketball games, and concerts with a newer arena next door.

Philadlelphia's success story with The Spectrum could become Pittsburgh's with the Civic Arena. Our city has quickly become one of the best hockey markets in North America. The Pens have sold out over 150 games in a row and counting. The season ticket waiting list is now over 8,000 seats long. The city will host the Frozen Four in 2013.

The demand for hockey is outweighing supply. As it stands now, the only big-time hockey in the city includes the Penguins and Robert Morris men's hockey, which plays in the tiny Clearview Arena on Neville Island.

There's no doubt in our minds that a Penguins-affiliated AHL team could easily pack 7,000 people into Civic Arena every game with AHL tickets averaging $20 per game. Fans would get a chance to see top Pens prospects like Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi before they make their way to the big club full-time.

Philadelphia was not unique as a two-hockey team town. The Chicago Wolves drew over 7,900 per game playing less than a half-hour from United Center, home of the Blackhawks. The Providence Bruins attracted over 6,700 fans per game deep in the heart of Boston Bruins territory, playing less than an hour away from the TD Garden.

An AHL team occupying 40 dates per year could anchor a re-configured Civic Arena, possibly one with a reduced capacity to hold minor-league hockey, other minor sports teams, and smaller concerts in a more intimate setting.

We think this is a solid plan to tap into the burgeoning Pittsburgh hockey market and keep the Civic Arena's bills paid until an economically-viable reconstruction of the Igloo's interior can be decided upon.