The Vision...
Keys to Pittsburgh's future competitiveness will be about conservation, recycling and rebuilding green. So let’s imagine that the stainless steel-clad Igloo becoming a unique destination for visitors to learn of our innovative ways. It would be Pittsburgh's answer to Chicago’s Millennium Park.
In order to visualize this transformation, imagine removing most of the interior seating “bowl” and all of the non-structural stuff of the old arena. Now, stripped to its structural elegance, new uses could be built within and still have room for the coolest park around with a roof that opens in summer and closes in winter!
Imagine this circular park with lush landscape in summer and the recycled Penguin's rink in winter. It could have a small amphitheater next to the rink for jazz, Cirque du Soleil, Squonk Opera—all complementing the business for the new Arena. Imagine a hip “destination hotel,” retail, restaurants and a surrounding residential neighborhood with views every bit as dramatic as Mt. Washington.
A key feature would be a reconnected Wiley Avenue connecting the City to the Hill once again. This would then make it not the isolated place like it is today, but a truly “civic” space fully integrated with surrounding new development as a 250th Birthday symbol befitting Pittsburgh’s rebirth as a place of innovation.