It's time to say goodbye to an old friend.
Early this month, the Mellon Arena will close for good, giving way to a brand spanking new facility across the street - The Consol Energy Center.
Most of us will remember the building as The Civic Arena, or more affectionately, "The Igloo," due to its domelike construction. (Incidentally, the Penguins were named because of "The Igloo," and not vice versa.)
The arena was constructed as the Civic Auditorium between 1957-1961 at a cost of $22 million and was originally built as a home to the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Its retractable roof was the first of its kind.
Over the years it has played host to many concerts and sporting events.
Boxing, basketball, tennis, soccer, figure skating, wrestling and, of course, hockey have all found a home in the arena over the years.
I have been fortunate to have attended many events at the Civic Arena. I have witnessed the roof open on many occasions, and it always made for an endearing venue. The new arena will be fantastic, and I look forward to the experience.
However, I will miss the Civic Arena in much same way I miss Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium, and that is the memories I have of it.
Don Ciambotti
Altoona
Nebraska 'perfect fit'
With the Pac-10 serving as the catalyst, the Big Ten Conference wanted to move very slowly in its expansion - like in 12 to 18 months.
Well, that plan is now history thanks to the Pac-10 in its endeavors to create a mega-conference of its own and a Pac-10 TV network.
I am thrilled as I could not wait until end of 2010 or 2011 to see what the black and blue conference would do.
The University of Nebraska is a perfect fit.
That meets the criterion for a football playoff at the end of the season. And perhaps even better - a revitilization of an old rivalry between the Cornhuskers and the Nittany Lions.
The Michigan State vs. Penn State rivalry was never a good fit.
Do we stay at 12 teams now or move on? A lot of questions and possible scenarios will occupy us for the summer and well into fall. The Golden Goose is definitely Notre Dame.
Keep in mind that NBC is a troubled network in financial downfall or does the Big Ten raid the Big East to give cause to ND to think twice and move to the Big Ten?
We will see.
Les Hart
Duncansville
