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Updated: March 7, 2003. Original released two weeks before the event.
Mark Rauterkus, Activist
108 South 12th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203-1226Location of Open Meeting
South Side Market House15 Bedford Square
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
412-488-8390For Immediate Release
Fate of South Side Ice Rink Subject of Public Forum on March 6, 2003
Various community members and individual leaders of the South Side Market House Children's Athletic Association hosted a public forum and open discussion on the future of the closed Neville Ice Rink. The forum is scheduled for Thursday, March 6, 2003 at 7:30 PM at the Market House, 15 Bedford Square, located off 12th Street between Carson and Muriel Streets.
The South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association recently initiated discussion on the rink's fate.
For years, the City of Pittsburgh operated two public ice skating facilities: one in Oakland's Schenley Park, the other in South Side's Quarry Park. During Pittsburgh's "Pre-Hockey" era, the Schenley rink enjoyed a steady stream of recreational skaters. The South Side site however was underused and did not generate the attendance to justify the city's operating costs. The City of Pittsburgh eventually leased the South Side site to a private firm which converted it to an enclosed, year-round, facility primarily dedicated to ice hockey.
Renamed Neville Ice Arena, the South Side rink quickly became an ice hockey mecca for amateur, neighborhood, high school, and college teams. The operator also constructed an outdoor deck hockey facility. Unfortunately, Neville Ice Arena closed and the prior operator has passed. The ice rink remains closed and the outdoor deck destroyed by vandals during litigation between the operator's estate and the City of Pittsburgh.
The rink is now under the control of the City which has no specific plan for its reopening. There are many community advocates and ice hockey coaches who want the rink reopened and expanded. Others see additional uses for the site and the surrounding area as a center for other athletic programs ranging from volleyball to swimming.
The forum will provide an opportunity for a variety of community and athletic interests to come together at the same table to continue the discussion and move toward formal proposal options.
For more information, contact Mark Rauterkus, secretary of the Market House Children's Athletic Association at 412-298-3432 or email, Mark@Rauterkus.com.