Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Key for retaining the Penguins

I want to grow the region. Give the Penguins the development rights of 500 or 600 acres -- not 30 acres -- by building the new arena out of the city and by the airport.

There are plenty of other places in Allegheny County that would allow for the Pens to make a lot of additional money. The Pens can't make enough money in the lower Hill District.

The lower Hill District wasn't the right place for the slots parlor. The lower Hill District is a mess today -- in part -- because of the Hockey Nights in Pittsburgh. The excessive traffic at your doorstep means people won't live there. The Hill District can thrive after the Pens go elsewhere and after Barden's money, $350-million, gets leveraged, say for a new streetcar line that connect downtown to Oakland -- through the Hill District.

Build by the highways, near the river, near the rails, near the customers.

There is space by McKees Rocks and more space, brownfield space sitting idle, in McKeesport. Build two Olympic Villages. Build two arenas -- with their private money, of course. And this can be done with the income from the value that they'd generage by being part of those new neighborhoods. Then you could link the sites (McKees Rocks & McKeesport) by train, with stops along the way.

From planning-urban


Point is, we need to be creative so as to grow the region. The Hill District needs to grow. There are other better places for the Pens where the value of the team, and the region, can skyrocket.
PITTSBURGH - Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato singled out the economic development around the Pittsburgh International Airport as one of the county's success stories last year and a key to ensuring future economic growth in the region.
Right. Four warehouses make his booming success story. Joke. There are now 600 acres of development land -- waiting for a Penguins Village.

Could look like this:

From Pens Village

From Pens Village


Or, you can keep to plan B, and plan C -- and try to squeeze a new arena into this space.

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