http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_south/20010110rink2.asp S. Side rink staves off sheriff's sale Overdue bank debt paid in part Wednesday, January 10, 2001 By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer The Neville Ice Arena on the South Side had its doors padlocked Monday because of an unpaid financial judgment against rink operator Paul Shuttleworth, who owed $6,600 to Iron and Glass Bank, a county official said yesterday. Shuttleworth's assets at the rink, including his Zamboni machines, hockey nets, ice skates, computers, vending machines and other rink equipment, were to be sold at a sheriff's sale today. But the sheriff's sale was avoided and the locks removed yesterday after Shuttleworth made arrangements with the bank to pay the overdue loan, said Martin Madigan, supervisor of the civil processing division of the Allegheny County sheriff's office. "We have been contacted by [Shuttleworth] and are currently attempting to settle this matter," bank lawyer Reed J. Davis said in a letter to Madigan yesterday. "Please postpone the [sheriff's] sale for one month and immediately remove the padlocks, thereby allowing the [operators] access to the property," the letter said. Madigan said he understood Shuttleworth paid about $5,000 of the debt yesterday and arranged to pay the rest. Shuttleworth has failed to return several phone calls from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to discuss the situation, but an employee who would identify himself only as John said, "There was a miscommunication between creditors and operators, but it's been taken care of and the place is open." Even with the debt being paid off, however, Shuttleworth's problems at the rink are far from over. He faces continuing complaints from youth hockey leagues about the poor condition of the ice and other accommodations at the arena. He also faces criticism from city Councilman Gene Ricciardi and city Parks Department Director Duane Ashley for holding raves at the rink. The loud concerts have upset some South Side residents. The city owns the rink but has a long-term lease with Shuttleworth to run it. Ricciardi said he may try to break the lease. The hockey leagues, along with some South Side residents and city politicians, are concerned about damage they say is being done to the rink by youths who have attended raves held at the rink. "There definitely have been problems with the ice at the rink because of raves held there," said Mark Larkin, president of Central Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey Association, which has teams of youths 8 to 12 years old. For the raves, Larkin said, plywood flooring topped with carpeting is laid down over the ice. After a rave, which typically ends early in the morning, a heavy piece of equipment called a bobcat is driven over the ice to pull up the boards. This can leave holes or ruts in the ice, he said. Drug paraphernalia has been found at the rink after the raves, said Laura Speis, whose son is on a Steel Valley hockey team that plays at Neville arena. She also said that after a rave Dec. 9 "the ice was filthy. There was vomit frozen to the ice and the dasher boards. There was a huge puddle of vomit in a penalty box left over from the night before." Practice had to be canceled the following day, a Sunday, because of the poor condition of the facility, she said. At some points, the ice doesn't go all the way to the dasher boards, leaving the wood beneath exposed, she said. Shuttleworth and his son, Buff, haven't maintained the rink well, agreed Andrew Stewart of the Allderdice Hockey Association. The high school team is a member of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League, which prohibited its teams from playing at the Neville rink for 10 days in December until padding was added to the dasher boards and other repairs were made. Larkin said there have been other problems, such as gaps between dasher boards and an improperly working dehumidifier, which created heavy fog inside the building that kept players from seeing each other. "We're getting out of there completely," Larkin said, explaining that the association is moving practices and games to a new rink called Ice Castle that just opened in Castle Shannon.