Chatham University is exploring options to acquire the Hunt Armory Arena after plans were approved to begin negotiations with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA).
A subgroup of the Board of Trustees is currently working on a financial proposal for the full Board to vote on, which will determine if Chatham will move forward with negotiations to create a permanent ice rink in the facility. It would be the only rink within the city limits, except for PPG Paints Arena where the Pittsburgh Penguins play.
“We’d love to have it,” said Leonard Trevino, Chatham’s director of athletics and recreation. “I mean, we’re exploring it in every avenue that we can.”
The City of Pittsburgh currently owns the building; the plans to draft a lease and begin negotiations were approved last spring. However, nothing between the two parties has been finalized.
“The design and construction components of the project, until you have that defined, you don’t know how much the project is going to be,” said Bill Campbell, Chatham’s vice president of marketing and communications. He added that Chatham has been working with an architecture firm to estimate the costs of the project, originally quoted to be approximately $15 million for renovations.
University officials have said that the funds for the project must be completely fundraised and cannot add to its overall deficit.
“This cannot be the thing that causes a lot of problems for Chatham over the next 20 years. We’ve got to figure the financial picture out first before we move forward,” Board of Trustees chairman Kent McElhattan said.
Chatham’s advancement office, alongside its athletics department, is leading the fundraising initiative.
Previously, the Hunt Armory Arena was run by the Penguins team, which would bring in a temporary ice rink from October until March. Chatham would pay for ice time so its hockey teams could practice and play games in the nearby facility.
The University hopes that having a permanent home for its hockey teams could help with student recruitment, as well as benefit the general student body and the broader Chatham community.
Currently, both hockey teams need to be shuttled to locations more than 30 minutes away in the mornings for practice. The Hunt Armory Arena is located off of Emerson Street, four blocks away from Chatham’s Shadyside location.
“I think that’s an important part of any sport, you know, having a space where your team can feel comfortable with home-ice advantage,” Michael Gershon, the men’s hockey team’s head coach, said.
There is hope that this plan would allow for the creation of two new club teams for students who don’t want to play at a competitive level.
“There’s a lot of interest in hockey. Not every school has a hockey team. We could easily add club teams tomorrow and fill both the men’s and women’s club teams. Our coaches have turned down that many student-athletes who want to be on a hockey team,” Trevino said.
The Hunt Armory was originally designed as an armory and was finished in 1916. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a City Historic Landmark. After the building’s time as an armory, it became the largest auditorium in Pittsburgh until 1961. Since then, the armory has been used for several different projects, nothing ever being permanent.
Because of its historic infrastructure, the armory lacks proper locker rooms and lighting, as well as enough seating for fans. Plus, the temporary rink couldn’t withstand the wear and tear of a full season.
“In the photos that we’ve seen, it’s a gorgeous design,” Gershon said, and the other issues Chatham would fix if the plan moves forward. “There’s ample space for both programs to have a locker room with storage, coach offices and a training room.”
With the possibility of Chatham leasing the Hunt Armory, students could be offered open skate times. The administration also hopes to start up the Learn to Skate program for students and locals to get skate lessons.
The men’s and women’s teams will play out the season in the Alpha Ice Complex while research for Chatham’s Hunt Armory plan continues. Alpha Ice Complex is located near Alpha Drive in Harmar Township, a 15-minute drive from the Shadyside campus.
