Cost estimates for Penguins' new arena rise by $45 million Jul 31, 2002 5:57 PM (EDT) PITTSBURGH (AP) - The estimated cost for a new hockey arena in Pittsburgh is $270 million - $45 million more than previous projections. The Sports & Exhibition Authority, a city-county agency that owns Mellon Arena where the Penguins currently play, said the proposed funding plan for construction - private investment, including that of the Penguins organization - would be about $108 million. The state would be asked to put up $90 million, though legislators have set aside only $60 million in the capital budget for the arena. The plan has not been approved by the Penguins, who would rent the arena for $3 million a year, the Pittsburgh City Council, the Regional Asset District or the Legislature. "We have worked very hard over the last several months, even longer than that, to develop a plan that we think is a viable one," said Steve Leeper, executive director at the Sports & Exhibition Authority. The Regional Asset District, an agency that distributes about $75 million annually from the county's 1 percent sales tax, would need to come up with $53.4 million. The federal government would be asked to spend $11.57 million. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is being asked to spend $3.3 million and another $3.2 million would come from interest earnings. "There are no city funds available and I am pleased that the SEA has put together a smart plan that does not include any city funds," Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy said in a statement. "Instead, this plan features significant private and state funding and is a good starting point." Long known as the Civic Arena, Mellon Arena was designed in the 1950s and originally opened in 1961 as the home of Pittsburgh's opera company. It is the oldest and second-smallest arena in the NHL. The new arena would be built directly south of Mellon Arena.
