City Seeks NHL All-Star Game at New Arena

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said today that he's hoping to bring the National Hockey League All-Star Game to Pittsburgh within a few years of the opening of a new arena, and has initiated talks with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman toward that end.

He said the idea, which he planted with Mr. Bettman on Tuesday shortly before the financial plan for a new arena was unveiled, is part of what he hopes will be a sustained effort to attract big events to the new venue in its early years.

"We have a five-year window, for example, of the building being new, being fresh," he said. "We would ideally be in the running to get the NCAA [basketball] tournament back."

Mr. Bettman "said it's a reasonable expectation to look at Pittsburgh as a site for the NHL All-Star Game after the new arena opens," the mayor said. "The earliest we'd be looking at is 2011 or 2012."

The city last hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 1990. The game is to be played in Atlanta in 2008, Montreal in 2009, and won't occur in 2010, because it is not held in years during which there is a winter olympiad.

Glendale, Ariz., where the Phoenix Coyotes play in a new building, may have the inside track on 2011. It was slated to get the game in 2006 before the league decided not to hold it because of the conflict with the Olympic Games, in which many of the league's stars play.

Mr. Ravenstahl said the idea of making a pitch for the game came to him near the close of the arena negotiations, and he got the Penguins' support before approaching Mr. Bettman.
The city had a great experience with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game last year, he said.

"With a new facility, and the great young team that we have, the opportunity to highlight Pittsburgh again on a national level was really intriguing," he said. "Small businesses, restaurants, those types of venues, hotels, really receive a shot in the arm from all-star games."

The city and Allegheny County are negotiating lease terms for the $290 million arena with the team this month, and it could open in 2009.