The Rostraver Ice Garden is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

suburb of

Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania Belle Vernon is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It is situated along the Monongahela River abutting two other counties, Westmoreland to the north and Washington across the river. As of the 2020 census Belle Vernon had a population of ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at exit 43, 43a and 43b on Interstate 70

History

Opened in 1965, the Ice Garden hosts local sporting events (mainly hockey) and concerts. It also has banquet rooms and a restaurant called Murph's Pub. It was a home for Pittsburgh RiverRats indoor football

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

just for one season (2007) as well for the

Mon Valley Thunder The Mon Valley Thunder was an ice hockey team which played in the inaugural season of the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League in 2007. The team played its home games in the Rostraver Ice Garden in Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania. Brian Cersosimo was the ...

of the

Mid-Atlantic Hockey League The Mid-Atlantic Hockey League (MAHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league in the Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions of the United States. The league began play in November 2007. The league was a low level league designed to help ex juni ...

(2007-08). In 2014-15 the arena was the home for the Steel City Warriors of the

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Do ...

. Current tenants include the Mon Valley Thunder youth hockey association, the Elizabeth Forward Warriors hockey team, Ringgold Rams hockey team, and the

Serra Catholic Eagles Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil *Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area * Am ...

hockey team. The California University of Pennsylvania Men's and Women's hockey teams play their home games in this arena. The Ice Garden is also famous among wrestling fans as the venue for

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

in the Pittsburgh area in the mid-to-late 90s. Scenes from Kevin Smith's "

Zack and Miri Make a Porno ''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'' (also known simply as ''Zack and Miri'') is a 2008 American sex comedy film written, directed and edited by Kevin Smith and starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. It was released on October 31, 2008. Plot Zack ...

" were filmed here. On April 29, 2017, the Rostraver Ice Garden was nominated to be 2017's

Kraft Hockeyville ''Kraft Hockeyville'' is an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association in which communities compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The winning commu ...

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and later won the national competition, receiving $150,000 in upgrades, along with an opportunity to host an NHL preseason game, which was denied by the NHL and NBC for several reasons, but the Penguins were able to hold a practice & celebration at the arena.

Incidents

On February 14, 2010, after heavy snowfall in Southwestern Pennsylvania, a 100-by-200-foot section of the roof of the Ice Gardens collapsed during a youth hockey tournament between Canadian and US teams. About five hours after the collapse, officials reported that everyone was accounted for and there were no serious injuries. Local TV stations reported from the scene that the collapse occurred shortly after a loud cracking noise was heard, giving adults enough time to evacuate hundreds of people, mainly children, from the arena before the roof came down. The arena reopened to the public, with a new roof, on October 21, 2010.

References

Indoor arenas in Pennsylvania Sports venues in Pittsburgh Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 1965 1965 establishments in Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-sports-venue-stub