The 28 Acres
Often times throughout the blog I refer to the "28 Acres". This is the plot of the land where the Civic Arena used to stand and also includes the surface parking lot above the Civic Arena site on the hill. This is the area that borders the Hill District and specifically the Crawford Square housing development. The following footage, shot from the Lexus Club inside the Consol Energy Center, gives you an idea of the 28 Acres expanse and its proximity to downtown Pittsburgh. The Penguins hope to eventually develop this space in its entirety and have the rights to do so for the next ten years.
Ratings...
Unfortunately these numbers come at the expense of the Penguins, given that they have yet to win a playoff game in their first series. However, it has to be promising for those in the business of hockey to note that the ratings thus far in the Stanley Cup playoffs have been very strong. According to this article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Sunday game on NBC between the Penguins and the Flyers was the highest rated first round playoff game in 11 years. The interesting thing is that all of the fighting in the first period of the game likely helped drive up the rating. This presents a dilemma for fans, members of the media and NHL leadership who wonder whether or not fighting in professional hockey should be curbed. Clearly it is part of what draws some people to the game.
Inside Consol Energy Center...
Brief video below from inside the Consol Energy Center a couple of hours before the Penguins-Flyers second playoff game. I'm not sure the video gives you an idea of just how large the center scoreboard is. I have been told that only the Staples Center in Los Angeles (where the LA Kings play) has a larger scoreboard in the National Hockey League. It's enormous, and has great picture and sound. There is a palpable buzz in the air just before a game. I'm hoping I get to experience it a few more times before the season is over. [FINGERS CROSSED]
Hockey on TV?
Saw this column today in Sports Illustrated discussing professional hockey on television. Particularly in the wake of the lost season several years ago and a lack of presence on ESPN, hockey has struggled to generate decent television ratings as of late. The sport may be on the upswing though with the help of NBC. Last year's Stanley Cup playoffs generated stronger ratings. This year's playoffs will be broadcast across the NBC "family of networks" giving the sport more exposure than it's had in some time. Richard Deitsch of SI provides some good insight into the subject here.
The importance of management style and corporate culture...
Very interesting article in the New York Times today about the management style of Phil Libin, the CEO of Evernote. I love what Libin had to say about the corporate culture of his organization and how they don't do anything just because that's the way it's always been done. One of the things specifically that he said that I think is brilliant is that they try to take away anything inside their offices that would be perceived as status. In other words, the executives don't get big offices while everyone else gets cubes. Everyone essentially has the same work space. This attracts employees that are motivated by doing good work, not achieving a corner office.
Civic Arena, gone but not forgotten.
Civic Arena has been raised as of March 31st, 2012. A project by an organization called Allpoint Systems is preserving the memory of the old building in a unique way. Using laser technology a scan of the inside of the arena was performed before it was demolished. The images captured are available to anyone that would like to look back at what it was like to be inside Civic Arena. You can read more about the project here.
Civic Arena is pictured here with the roof partially retracted not long after it was built in the early 1960.
Civic Arena is pictured here with the roof partially retracted not long after it was built in the early 1960.
"How much for one rib?"
Funny story in a local newspaper today about how a rib joint is catching heat from Penguins fans. The coach of the rival Philadelphia Flyers claimed that the post-game ribs from Dee-Jay's (which is local to Pittsburgh) were motivating his team to keep beating the Penguins. The owner of the restaurant has stated he'll no longer be serving the Flyers as a result.
Here are some pictures of the old Civic Arena and the new Consol Energy Center. These images give you an idea of the proximity of the two facilities to each other and to downtown Pittsburgh.
Mario Lemieux
Here's an interesting article from the April 2nd Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discussing Penguins owner Mario Lemieux (who is pictured to the right with current player Sidney Crosby). He took a calculated risk purchasing the team when it was in the midst of great financial difficulties.
One of the interesting aspects of the transaction was that the Penguins actually owed Lemieux approximately $30 million in deferred compensation from his time as a star player with the club. With the team in bankruptcy, it's possible that money would have never been repaid.
The well-written article also compares the role of Lemieux in Pittsburgh to that of Magic Johnson, who is now part of a group of investors that are trying to rescue the Los Angeles Dodgers from financial ruin. It is a very apt and interesting comparison. You can read the rest of the article here.
One of the interesting aspects of the transaction was that the Penguins actually owed Lemieux approximately $30 million in deferred compensation from his time as a star player with the club. With the team in bankruptcy, it's possible that money would have never been repaid.
The well-written article also compares the role of Lemieux in Pittsburgh to that of Magic Johnson, who is now part of a group of investors that are trying to rescue the Los Angeles Dodgers from financial ruin. It is a very apt and interesting comparison. You can read the rest of the article here.
Below is some additional video of the Civic Arena being demolished. The last two leaves of the roof came down on March 31st, 2012.