After appeal's failure, demolition of Civic Arena may start Monday
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A federal appeals court refused to step in Friday to save the Civic Arena, clearing the way for the demolition of a building that has evoked both memories and epithets.
In a one-paragraph order, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion filed by Preservation Pittsburgh for an injunction in a last-ditch bid to halt the work.
The decision gives the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority, the Igloo's owner, the go-ahead to start the demolition of the 50-year-old landmark Monday morning.
"It's just a sad day. I think a lot of people are going to miss this building," said Scott Leib, president of Preservation Pittsburgh.
Preservation Pittsburgh sought an emergency injunction before the circuit court after U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone threw out the group's lawsuit aimed at blocking the razing.
It argued that the redevelopment of the arena's 28-acre Hill District site would require federal highway funds and therefore a federal review of the plan to demolish the historic building.
But Judge Cercone said the group failed to convince him that there would be any federal involvement in the project and that he lacked jurisdiction to halt the work.
In its order Friday, the circuit panel said it believed that Judge Cercone acted correctly in dismissing the lawsuit and that Preservation Pittsburgh failed to show that it was likely to succeed on the merits of its case.
Mr. Leib said the group always knew that the legal battle was "a long shot."
"The loophole for the SEA is that there is no federal action. Yet everybody knows there will be. When there is, we are still concerned that what the SEA is doing now is in fact anticipatory demolition," he said.
Beyond that, he said the razing of the Igloo "highlights an incredible lack of innovation and integrity by the leaders of our city."
"While some think demolition of the arena is fixing the problems of 50 years ago, I think history will show that in fact we are simply repeating those mistakes," he said. "Instead of honoring and celebrating the diverse fabric of the lower Hill District, we demolished it, and now the SEA is demolishing one of Pittsburgh's great modern structures from the 1960s."
Mr. Leib also said the process set up by the SEA to look for alternatives to demolition was flawed from the start because the agency had agreed to tear down the arena and give the Penguins development rights to the land on which it sat as part of the 2007 deal to keep the team in Pittsburgh.
First Published September 24, 2011 12:00 am
