Pittsburgh Penguins Present Ideas For Temporary Ice Rink At Hunt Armory In Shadyside
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins presented their ideas for a temporary ice rink at the historic Hunt Armory in Shadyside.
The Penguins are working with the community to find solutions for traffic and parking concerns. The organization wants to turn the historic armory into a temporary indoor public ice skating rink to help bring diversity to the sport.
"We are here because we want to reach kids in neighborhoods," said Penguins Chief Operating Office Kevin Acklin. "We have a program to reach players of color, to bring them into the game, to learn not only how to play and maybe get drafted one day."
The team wants to use off-site parking lots like the Calvary Episcopal Church on Shady Avenue, Sacred Heart, the East Side Bond Garage and the Shakespeare Street Giant Eagle.
In the first of two meetings, residents and business owners voiced their concerns on Monday.
"I don't think you have the parking thing figured out," one person said.
"What is your future with this plan? Do you plan to put this up temporarily every year? Or is there another idea brewing here with the armory?" another person said.
Still, some showed support.
"We want to give our kids opportunities. That's one of the reasons why so many of you see kids on the street because there are no opportunities. There are less," a person said.
The team promised limits on attendance, to get agreements on available parking and not to operate during school hours.
They also agreed to open the rink to public skating, much like PPG Place in Market Square.
"We showed up here tonight," Acklin said. "We didn't try to jam anything down anyone's throat. We got a lot of questions and we intend to come back to the community and provide solutions to some of those questions."
The plan is to open the ice rink on Thanksgiving and to take it down on March 1. The next public meeting is Wednesday.
