SEA vows recycling of Civic Arena parts
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If the bid to save the Civic Arena fails, its one-of-a-kind retractable roof could end up in the recycling bin.
The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority is planning to reuse or recycle as much as 95 percent of the steel, glass, copper, concrete and other materials used in the construction of the 49-year-old landmark.
"Basically what we are telling the contractor is that it won't go to a landfill. It will somehow be reused or recycled," said Mary Conturo, SEA executive director.
That includes the stainless steel roof that has been described as an engineering marvel as well as the structural steel used in the Igloo's construction and even the concrete that formed its foundation.
"It's our objective to recycle as much as possible. We're not required by law, but we think it's the right thing to be doing," Ms. Conturo said.
The roof will probably be peeled off in layers to safely remove the asbestos that was part of its fabrication, said Mike Barnard, project manager for Oxford Development Co.
Once removed, the stainless steel -- or more precisely, stainless sheet metal -- will be cut into smaller pieces before being hauled from the site to be recycled, Mr. Barnard said.
While there has been interest in moving large sections of the dome to other locations -- for instance, a developer has talked about using part of the roof on an office building in Ohio Township -- Mr. Barnard said that probably wouldn't happen.
He noted the large sections do not make for easy removal and said anyone seeking to take them from the site would first have to figure out a way to get rid of the asbestos.
"From what we've seen to date, it is cost prohibitive for someone to take a large section" and transport it elsewhere, he said.
Not every piece of the roof will be headed to the recycler. One portion will be set aside for the Sen. John Heinz History Center and another for the Consol Energy Center, the new home of the Penguins that opened in August across the street from the arena.
While scrap metal prices, particularly copper, can be extremely profitable, the SEA is not looking to benefit from the recycling of the arena.
First Published June 7, 2011 12:00 am
