RETRO RINKS | Civic Arena

On the debut episode of Retro Rinks we visit the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh PA home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A lot of hockey history happened under the Igloos iconic dome. Originally built to house the Pittsburgh Opera, this engineering marvel would house the Penguins until 2010.
Special thanks to @TheDryve (on twitter and Insta) for the custom graphics and Chris Nash @cjnash (insta/Twitter) for the custom "HNIC" theme song!

[@gregbrown9565]

Very underrated arena. Always raucous and loud in there, especially during the 2000's. 2009 cup run was the craziest atmosphere ive ever been apart of.

[@marsritch]

Loved the Igloo. I missed going to Penguin games there as a kid. Most memorable game I went to was Game 6 of the 2009 Cup Finals. The crowd was ecstatic the entire game!

[@CrispusMagnus]

I went to my first rock concert at the Civic Arena. We saw Chicago and it was near July 4. When they sang “Saturday, in the park. Think it was the Fourth of July”, they had opened the roof and they had a fireworks show. That was an amazing experience.

[@ronaldheld3899]

Retro Rinks what a great idea! Looking forward to seeing all the old barns featured. The Hornets of the AHL also played there.

[@johnsalko5077]

I saw my first concert their in 84' The Cars, with Wang Chung opening. I also saw Ratt and Billy Squier there.

[@LQHockey]

Love that rink. One goal that will always stick with me is Malkin's backhand spin goal against Carolina in the '09 ECF. One of my favorite goals growing up and with the white-out, it was just awesome!

[@phendric66]

That Malkin goal is my favorite memory there

[@johnrickettsjr3463]

Never got to a game there but I seen the Globetrotters there. Loved it

[@darrenley9056]

I've never been to a hockey game there, but when I was four years old my mom took me to see the Ice Capades at Mellon Arena in the 1970's.

[@bangkokfed]

In 1985 The Civic Arena was home to my first rock concert. KISS. I was such a cool and unique landmark. It's a shame it was demolished.

[@johnlanders605]

It was back in 1974 and I was in Pittsburgh on business and was invited to join my group for a Pittsburgh Triangles World Team Tennis game against the Boston Lobsters. Can't recall who won but do remember they opened up the roof of the Civic Arena and played tennis under the stars. That was cool.

[@ilanbirman10]

My dad works for the Pittsburgh Penguins and used to work at the civic arena

[@_TheRinks]

Love to hear some cool stories!

[@77mdj]

Section E, the balconies at the end of the ice, were my favorite seats I've ever sat at for any sporting event. The balcony was so far out over the lower level it felt like you could spit on the goalie's head and you were high enough to see the other end of the ice and all the plays develop. Sad that I'll never sit in seats like that again, no modern arenas that I know of are built like that.

[@lukeciarallo5419]

It was so bright and white inside

[@jameslisle7775]

I struck gold with this channel

[@_TheRinks]

Tell a friend! 🤗

[@MPW68]

I worked at the US Steel tower back in the late 90s, there was a week during the summer that the roof was completely open for work they were doing on the inside, where I sat, my cubicle overlooked the Civic Arena, I wished I had a camera and I was too lazy to buy a disposable one thinking that entire week ah they won't open it tomorrow, to this day I'm still kicking my self for not going on my lunch break to buy one. It was indeed a sight to see from the 38th floor of the steel building, I did get some great photos of the arena when they tore it down, bitter sweet, but back in 99 I didn't have a cellphone camera.

[@buzzlightyear3849]

Thanks for the video. As I get older I appreciate the history of these historic buildings. Mid to late 90s my stepdad took me to see Eric Clapton there. He never took me there for a pens game , just always heard the games on the radio. Glad to be able to say I was there once.

[@Beige6410]

Retro rinks. Good idea for videos!

[@JC-yg6hz]

This was as unique a place as there was in North America. It was a cozy, loud place to watch a game and was uniquely, Pittsburgh. Miss it

[@BTTrollz]

the retro tv filter is neat, but i would get rid of it and go fullscreen after the intro

[@_TheRinks]

Ah - but it’s not a filter! I intentionally wanted to maintain the 4:3 profile and in order to do that I’ve filmed through an old camcorder etc. I wanted to keep the crap resolution that was 4:3 and tv back in the 70/80/90s. To show the kids how we used to see the world! Hahah. I’ll do a BTS episode to show you the process! 😉

[@MarijuanaCanada]

Your videos are awesome dude. Ive been binging for 2 days. You should put your videos in playlists on your home page so people can easily find other videos in your series. Subbed

[@_TheRinks]

Thanks for that idea! Done! appreciate the feedback and I'm glad you enjoyed all that you've watched so far!

[@HockeyGUY66871]

Im a Pens fan. While the Civic Arena was a massive dump for many reasons, leaking roof, very odd seating configuration, seats with obstructed views, and very small concourses, it was a very very cool building. While I much prefer PPG Paints Arena, i do miss the Igloo

[@jjrighteousxx13]

One of the craziest moments in wrestling history happend also. Undertaker throwing Mankind off the steel cage.

[@canadiansyrup527]

Even though I never been there, I've heard it was pretty cool, One of the key features that made Civic Arena stand out was the Ads on the roofs,

[@nyrmetros]

Can't wait for MSG III

[@andrewelliott1592]

I was just about 11 when I was lucky enough to go to Pittsburgh with my parents to watch the final 2 regular season games at the Igloo. I'll never forget it. I had only been into hockey for about 4 years and though I'm an NC boy and shoulda been pulling for the Canes, I chose the Pens because penguins are my favorite animal. Around 2018 though, I switched back to Carolina because the toxicity in the Pens' fanbase after the 2nd of the back to back Cups proved to be too much for me. That being said, Pittsburgh remains strongly as my 2nd team and I will always cherish that week I spent in Pittsburgh in 2010 at the Igloo. How I hope when Father Time comes calling for PPG Paints Arena that the city will construct a bigger/better version of Mellon Arena and call it "Igloo II" in honor of the original

[@CyanideChrist1-uf2du]

you're delusional about the toxicity fanbase. As a Pens fan for nearly 30 years, You don't speak for me. The Toxicity you're probably referring to was brought by their bandwagon fanbase so eff you. Each Cup championship was a hard fought one and never considered that it would be repeated on a consistent basis.

[@faceache_]

I hope you cover the giant Barton theatre organ and legendary organist Al Melgard when you get to Chicago Stadium.

[@_TheRinks]

Oh I do!

[@simonmarshall19]

My fav thing about this rink was it was home of the late Bruno Sammartino

[@GoatzelEnjoyer]

How did they move the roof? It is a giant piece of dome so i for some reason think it was hard to move the roof.

[@tord_cool282]

Can you please do the joe Louis arena

[@_TheRinks]

I’ve already done a review of Joe Louis. But at the time it was still around! Haha. Check the channel or the link below! Enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJWZppyGh9aDac0