The president of a Los Angeles company proposing to finance a new arena in Pittsburgh privately wants to take the facility's design to another level -- below ground.

During a meeting yesterday, Michael Shapiro, head of Sports Finance and Management Group, unveiled a plan to build nearly all of the facility underground, with the exception of a roof, parking and a giant video screen.

Shapiro said the plan not only would save money on heating and cooling costs and be environmentally friendly, but would create a "buzz" that would attract interest worldwide. His plan envisions a shallow pool of water resting on top of the roof for aesthetics and to help cool the building.

"We think it's a great statement for a great community," he said.

The underground 18,150-seat arena, which apparently would be the first of its kind anywhere, is the newest wrinkle in SFMG's sketchy plan to finance a new multipurpose facility for the Penguins to replace the aging Mellon Arena.

During his visit, Shapiro offered little in the way of new details on his plan other than the unique design. He reiterated his belief that the arena could be built for about $150 million with private funding, excluding site acquisition and infrastructure costs, far below a $270 million proposal from the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority.

Shapiro was at the Ramada Plaza Suites and Conference Center Downtown to meet with several state legislators and to brief reporters on his plans for a privately funded arena.

Afterward, state Rep. Frank Dermody, chairman of the county's Democratic legislative delegation, said he would try to secure $80,000 in state funding to do a study, to be supervised by SFMG, to fix the arena's costs, its potential revenue sources, its size, and whether the project is feasible.

"An $80,000 investment to save $100 million makes a lot of sense to me," Dermody said.

Shapiro offered no detailed breakdown of his cost estimate, but pointed to new arenas in Columbus, Ohio, St. Paul, Minn., and Glendale, Ariz., near Phoenix, as proof that such facilities could be built for that price.

The privately financed Nationwide Arena in Columbus, which opened nearly four years ago, cost $156 million to build, excluding site acquisition costs. The Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, which opened the same year, cost more than $170 million. The Glendale Arena totaled $220 million, including site acquisition and infrastructure costs.

However, one of the newest arenas under consideration, an 18,000-seat facility in Newark, has an estimated price tag of $310 million.

The Penguins and the Sports & Exhibition Authority have expressed skepticism over Shapiro's estimate. Two years ago, the SEA presented its plan for a $270 million arena to be built on the site of the former St. Francis Central Hospital across from Mellon Arena. Building costs totaled $209 million, slightly less than a separate Penguins' $215 million estimate.

Penguins officials were not invited to yesterday's presentation, although Shapiro said they would be brought into the discussions once his proposal moves beyond the "embryonic" stage. Penguins President Ken Sawyer said he is still waiting to see details.

"It's time for this group to produce the data behind their claims and, if that can be shown to be reliable, I think it's terrific that it can be done privately and for less money," Sawyer said.

The idea of an underground arena, he added, "is something I never heard of." He suggested such a proposal could end up increasing the arena's costs because it's so far out of the mainstream for such facilities.

Penguins officials have been reluctant to criticize a proposal that involves no public funding in a city where people are still smarting over the construction of PNC Park and Heinz Field, built largely with tax dollars. But they also have questioned whether a privately funded arena would give them the revenues they need to stay competitive, given the debt service on the building.

As for the $80,000 study, "It's not for me to pass judgment. I think the legislators should determine whether Mark Singel's group is credible and whether this money is well spent," Sawyer said, referring to the former lieutenant governor who is a liaison to SFMG.

Shapiro, who previously acknowledged the Pittsburgh building would be the first his firm has built from start to finish, said the site for the facility could be near the existing arena or could be elsewhere in the city. He had no estimate on site acquisition costs but said it would be far less than $23 million proposed by the SEA.

Shapiro projected that there would be no more than $5 million to $7 million in public funding involved in his project, although the goal would be "to make that zero." He said one of the primary goals in building the facility would be to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

"We don't want them to just stay here. We want them to be competitive," he said.

Even with a portion of the overall revenues going to pay debt service, Shapiro maintained, the Penguins could increase their take through improved attendance and enhanced revenue streams.

"If it's done properly, they will make more money," he said.

Shapiro said it probably would take 24 to 30 months to build the arena once the green light is given. Once it is built, SFMG more than likely would manage it or hire someone to do so. SFMG would make its money either by taking a percentage of the revenue or a fixed fee but would not receive anything until the building has proven to be successful, Shapiro said.

Even if the SFMG proposal doesn't pan out, Dermody and state Rep. Don Walko, a North Side Democrat who has called for the creation of a task force to analyze private funding options for an arena, said the study is worth having.

Walko called the SFMG proposal "refreshing," given the huge public investments involved in the two stadiums and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

"The reliance on opium has been very addictive," he said, referring to public funding.

As for the underground design, "It's different, that's for sure," Dermody said.