HERMITAGE Damaged rink being torn down

The insurance company told the couple to proceed.
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- The fire-damaged Olympic Fun Center at 4070 E. State St. is coming down today.
A new, larger facility could take its place as early as March, said Dawn Smith, co-owner of the business with her husband, Joe. The couple live in Youngstown.
A July 16 electrical fire at the Shenango Valley's only roller rink did between $1.3 million and $1.4 million in damage, and the whole structure has to come down, Joe Smith said.
Project delayed
He had hoped to raze the building and start a new one several weeks ago, but the project was delayed while he worked out a settlement with his insurance company.
Smith said the building was a total loss. The insurance company, however, wanted to save some of the structural steel and brick walls.
Smith said the fire got hot enough to cause some large steel I-beams to twist and sag. The city told him all materials to be reused in a new building would have to be first tested by a structural engineer.
Dawn Smith said Monday that settlement terms are not yet final but that the insurance company has given the go-ahead to tear down the building and start construction on the new one.
Construction will follow immediately after the burned-out structure is razed, she said.
The new structure will be 33,000 square feet, which is larger than the old building, she said. The Smiths plan to add an indoor laser-tag arena in the new center.
Smith said it will take about two months for the new structural steel to arrive and another three months to erect the building.