Saying Hello to the New Igloo

For better or for worse, I spent the last hockey season waxing poetic about the demise of the Civic Arena, aka the old Igloo. I penned not one but two blogs delineating the lifetime of memories that I and all Penguin fans acquired in that unique but antiquated building.

And so it is only appropriate that I blog the same appreciation for the new Consol energy Center in the Burgh.

This magnificent new building is as far superior to its predecessor as the current Penguins are to the hopeless, pre Mario teams of the mid 80s. I have attended games in a dozen arenas throughout the United States and Canada and I can say this with some degree of confidence; the Consol Energy Center ranks with or above any and all of them. It is the kind of first class facility that both the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh richly deserve.

I’m not here to trample on the Igloo’s grave. I freely admit that as Emily and I walked up the hill towards the new facility, I felt a tinge of sadness taking in the now empty Civic Arena. A rush of memories flooded my brain, just as they did last March on my final visit. As I noted at the time, it might be a dump, but its our dump.

The Igloo was distinctly Pittsburgh and the physical embodiment of the Penguin’s franchise. It was also the last truly unique structure standing in the National Hockey League. To some degree its unfortunate that it never got the same respect as the “vintage” old buildings in Chicago, Boston, Toronto or Montreal.

None of which should obscure the reality that its time had long since past.

To be honest, I always felt that the Igloo gave the Penguins a bit of a bush league feel around the National Hockey League. The Penguins have a history that ranks with any team outside of the original six (and maybe some of them). That history demands a certain level of respect in the hockey world. I can’t help but think that more than a few hockey folk, especially from north of the boarder, refused to give it to a team playing essentially in a minor league facility.

Rest assured, that will no longer be the case.

I remember my first visit to the United Center in Chicago. It was 1996 and to that point in my life I had seen only the Igloo and the horrific and lifeless Mausoleum on Long Island. I was absolutely shocked when I entered the UC. I could not believe the large, open, well lit concourses, the nearly perfect sightlines, or the flat out enormity of the building. I remarked at the time that the Igloo could easily fit inside the UC.

Little did I know then that the UC was not an aberration, the Igloo was. Chicago’s new edifice is bigger than most arenas but almost all the new buildings share its basic constructs. I noted this in Los Angeles, San Jose, Minnesota, Toronto, Carolina, Tampa and St’Louis. Quite honestly, I never looked at our quaint little dome in Pittsburgh the same way again. From that day forward I recognized the desperate need to upgrade the Penguin’s home.

The Consol Energy Center is a monumental upgrade to say the least.

Over the succeeding 15 years I could no longer overlook the glaring deficiencies of the Igloo. The cramped concourses and seating areas. The poor views, especially in the covered ends. The back-up goaltenders sitting in the runway on a folding chair, the coaches sliding across the ice, etc, etc. There was a time when this was the typical experience in the NHL but that time had long since passed.

And that covers the areas we could see. It was pretty common knowledge that the Igloo’s locker rooms and training areas were not exactly state of the art. I can’t help but picture the disgusted looks on the faces of visiting players, who were changing in locker rooms equivalent to those from my high school soccer days (though picturing that look on Alex Ovechkin’s face does bring a sly smile).

Anyway, enough about the past, this is about the present and the future.

Let me start by saying that there does not appear to be a bad seat in the new building. I can say this because we sat in pretty much the worst seats in the place for two straight days. We were directly behind the net in the top five rows of the upper deck. And we had brilliant, unobstructed views of the entire ice. The height of the upper deck is solid, although it might freak out those who knew only the old E and F balconies across the street.

The New Igloo is lined with glass providing some terrific (though in some cases obstructed) views of downtown Pittsburgh. You take this in as you ride escalaters, yes escalaters to the upper balconies. No more sprinting up long runways or narrow stairwells. I’ll take it on faith or from Dan Potash that these locker rooms and training areas are indeed state of the art.

Perhaps most impressive, the building pays homage to the great history of the Penguins. For all of the non stop blathering about the original six, I will argue that few franchises can match the accomplishments of the Penguins, at least since they were raised to prominence by a quiet French Canadian simply known as “Le Magnifique.”

Emily and I spent a good half hour after Friday’s game watching video highlights of all time Penguin greats (she insisted that we first check out Tom Barrasso and who am I to argue with that?). We also watched videos of great moments in Penguin’s history (Petr Nedved in the 4th overtime) and used a spectacular program to get up close and personal looks at the Stanley Cup.

Between these features, murals of current and past players, and the numerous banners hanging in the rafters, the building is a living, breathing monument to its primary tenant. It is not some lifeless edifice like in St’Louis or Carolina. Just as I saw murals of Gordie Howe and Terry Sawchuck in Detroit, I saw murals of Rick Kehoe, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in Pittsburgh.

And unlike Detroit, we can now get in and out of the men’s room with out missing half a period of action.

The New Igloo, even with its glass exterior, does lack the unique exterior charm of its predecessor and sadly is not located on prime viewing real estate. So be it. This is a miniscule price to pay for a thousand fold improvement in quality. Take this from a Chicago resident who deals with the brilliant new interior of Soldier Field obscured by an alien abomination of site on the outside.

The building was a bit quiet at times but I will chalk that up to holiday afternoon games and not playing prime rivals. It got awfully loud when Marc Andre Fleury robbed Ottawa on Friday and/or Sidney Crosby finished off his third consecutive thanksgiving Saturday hat trick against Calgary.

Of course the one place the new Igloo is completely deficient is in history and memories. You can’t buy or rush those in to being. It will take time for the Pens to turn their new house in to a home. The visions of Mario’s criminal dissection of Shawn Chambers and John Casey or Ron Francis’ 95 foot slap shot through Mike Richter will always be across the street. We will never know Gary Roberts taunting all of Ottawa at the new barn.

That being said, I anxiously await the creation of those new memories. I took in two this weekend which is a tremendous start. With this young and brilliantly talented Penguin team, I expect many more in short order. The new generation of Penguins can build on their championship legacy, while working in a first class environment. Honestly, I had to pinch myself repeatedly to make sure I was not dreaming the experience.

We should not forget that work that Lemieux put in to making this happen. I understand that his motivations were not entirely altruistic but let us never forget that Big 66 ultimately saved the franchise one final time. He could have taken the money and run to Kansas City or Las Vegas but he did his best to keep the Penguins in the Burgh. It is truly mind boggling to consider where the Penguins sit today when you consider how bleak things looked at the turn of the century.

The Old Igloo now awaits its date with the wrecking ball (even as the new one has already hosted the ageless Recchin ball). It will be a truly sad day for me when that occurs. I’m sure I’ll deal with and perhaps blog about a wealth of emotions when that happens.

Alas it is time to move forward. As a great fictional ship captain once said, “it should be noted that this death takes place in the shadow of new life.” For the Penguins and their fans, the death of the igloo is the genesis of new life at the Con. The new building is the future; a future the Penguins truly deserve.

In fitting tribute to our old friend Badger Bob, every day now truly is, “A great day for hockey,” at least in the Burgh.

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY PENGUIN, BLESSED BE THE PENGUIN…FOR IT IS GOOD.