The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, from 1967 to 2010.

[5] Constructed in 1961 for use by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO), it was the brainchild of department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann.

It was the first retractable roof major-sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 square feet (16,000 m2), constructed with nearly 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel and supported solely by a massive 260-foot-long (79 m) cantilevered arm on the exterior.

[2] Even though it was designed and engineered as a retractable-roof dome, the operating cost and repairs to the hydraulic jacks halted all full retractions after 1995, and the roof stayed permanently closed after 2001.

"[7] The Civic Arena hosted numerous concerts, the circus, political and religious rallies, roller derbies as well as contests in hockey, basketball, fish tournament weigh-ins, pro tennis, boxing, wrestling, lacrosse, football, ice skating championships, kennel shows, and soccer.

The former Mellon naming rights expired soon after, and the Penguins and all other events moved across the street to the new Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena).

[11] Mayor David L. Lawrence had publicly announced plans for a "civic theater" as early as February 8, 1953[12] after years of public pressure had built after CLO president, civic leader and owner of Kaufmann's department store Edgar J. Kaufmann announced his intention on December 1, 1948, to find a new home for the group.

Funding was provided by a combination of public and private money, including grants from Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, and Kaufmann.

[11] To make room for the arena, the city used eminent domain to displace 8,000 residents and 400 businesses from the lower Hill District, the cultural center of black life in Pittsburgh.

Six of the sections could fold underneath two—in 2½ minutes—making the Civic Arena the world's first major indoor sports stadium with a retractable roof.

That board was replaced during the 1986 renovations by an American Sign and Indicator scoreboard with a black-and-white three-line matrix animation/messageboard on each side, which appears in Sudden Death.

Sugar Ray Robinson, Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson also participated in boxing matches at the arena.

On November 6, 1981, the globally televised World Heavyweight Title was fought at the arena between Larry Holmes and Renaldo Snipes with an undercard bout between Buster Douglas and David Bey.

America's first high school basketball All-Star game, The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic was held at the arena annually between 1965 and 1992.

[18] The Pittsburgh Triangles of World TeamTennis hosted three Eastern Division Championships at the arena from 1974 through 1976 and the Bancroft Cup finals in 1975, winning the title on August 25, 1975, with paid attendance of 6,882.

Olympic Gold Medal winner Mary Lou Retton performed at the Arena as part of the "Tour of Champions" event on November 2, 1990.

[28] The first rock concert at the arena was emceed by Porky Chedwick on May 11, 1962, as a DiCesare Engler production and featured Jackie Wilson, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Castelles, Jerry Butler, The Flamingos, The Angels, The Blue-Belles, and The Skyliners.

"[31] On August 14, 1974, Canadian rock band Rush played the first show on their debut US tour with new drummer Neil Peart at the Civic Arena.

The arena has hosted other major concerts by every act from Frank Sinatra[34] to Garth Brooks to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.

[35] Sly and the Family Stone, The Steve Miller Band, Grand Funk Railroad, Boz Scaggs, and The Beach Boys all played the arena in 1974.

[citation needed] Pop superstar Michael Jackson performed three concerts at Pittsburgh Civic Arena on September 26, 27 and 28, 1988 during his Bad World Tour.

[citation needed] Then country singer Taylor Swift played a show in the arena during her Fearless Tour on October 1, 2009.

The Grateful Dead's performances, on April 2–3, 1989, were recorded and later released as a live album, entitled Download Series Volume 9, as well as sparking a riot by "Dead Heads" on the final day of the concert, an event that was national news and featured by Kurt Loder on MTV News following the arrest of 500 by the Pittsburgh Police.

[5] The 2008 Finals marked the only occasion that the Stanley Cup was presented on Mellon Arena ice, after the Penguins were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

[44] The Pittsburgh Penguins played their final regular season game at the Mellon Arena on April 8, 2010, when they defeated the New York Islanders 7–3.

The Pipers were part of the inaugural season of the ABA in 1967–68, which quickly established a rivalry to the older National Basketball Association.

On May 4, 1968, the Pipers, led by future Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins, claimed the ABA's first ever championship, defeating the New Orleans Buccaneers before a Game 7 sold-out crowd of 11,457 in the Civic Arena.

Allegheny County Commissioner Pete Flaherty believed that officially renaming the arena The Igloo would bring marketing potential in 1992.

In later years, the arena's staff was forced to use space for multiple purposes never intended in the building's original design.

According to the script, the protagonist, Danila Borgov, arrived in the United States to help his friend's brother, Penguins player Dmitry Gromov (though events of the film take place in Chicago).