Standing on a new dek hockey rink under the Bloomfield Bridge in front of a line of Pittsburgh police officers, Mayor Bill Peduto dedicated the field to the late officer Paul Sciullo II.
Sciullo was one of three officers shot and killed in a 2009 Stanton Heights ambush. That year the baseball field under the bridge was named after the officer.
The Bloomfield native enjoyed baseball, but his passion was in hockey. He started playing hockey off the ice at dek rinks in the neighborhood. He was the captain of his high school team at Central Catholic and went on to play at Duquesne University.
The now open hockey dek will be home for the Bloomfield Dek Hockey Association as well as pickup games. The rink is one of 12 installed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Highmark in the region and the fourth installed in the city.
David Morehouse, president of the Pittsburgh Penguins, said it’s important to bring the infrastructure to the neighborhood.
“This isn’t just about building a dek hockey rink, this is about getting kids out and active; getting them off the couch exercising, learning how to play, learning how to work with others and teamwork, competition,” he said.
The park renovations included the hockey rink, new bocce courts, a new playground and updated parking lots.
Councilwoman Deb Gross said the park reflects the changes in the neighborhood.
“We have to reinvest and rebuild our neighborhoods as they change. And right now Bloomfield is certainly full of kids who will be happily using this field,” she said.
Peduto acknowledged the same team work kids will learn on the hockey rink was used in establishing the park in honor of Sciullo.
“He must be so happy right now. To know that kids in this community and this neighborhood and from all around, will be able to play on a state-of-the-art dek hockey rink, and will be able to play baseball, another passion of his right down the street,” he said.
