Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority wants Chatham University to take over running the city’s only indoor ice rink at Hunt Armory when the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lease expires next month.

The school would enter into a long-term lease and pour millions of dollars into fixing up the facility, according to the authority, which owns the building in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood.

By taking over the site, Chatham would keep alive community ice skating programs that have flourished at the armory in recent years.

The Penguins have been operating a public, indoor ice skating rink at the 45,600-square-foot facility since 2021. The Penguins partnered with others who used the rink, including Chatham.

The Penguins’ lease is set to expire in May, said Tom Link, the URA’s chief development officer. The deal came with an option for the Penguins to purchase the property for $2 million, an offer that also ends next month.

A spokesperson for the Penguins did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Chatham University President Rhonda Phillips said the school would use the rink for its men’s and women’s hockey teams, as well as community sports and recreation programs.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority board unanimously voted to authorize a 10-year lease agreement with the university. It would include an option for a 10-year extension or to purchase the property for $2 million.

Link previously said that price tag would allow the authority to recoup the costs of acquiring the property.

Officials did not say what the annual lease amount would be.

The school intends to invest $15 million in upgrades, according to authority documents.

The Emerson Street facility, which was built in 1911, long served as an armory for the National Guard’s 28th Infantry Unit. Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower have visited it.

The URA acquired the property in 2016, about three years after the National Guard vacated it.

The armory has served as the home for the Pittsburgh Inclusion Creates Equality — or Pittsburgh ICE — program, an initiative the Penguins launched to help Pittsburgh kids learn and play hockey.

It also has hosted public skates, community engagement activities and collegiate, high school and youth hockey teams.

Over 27,000 people used the rink in the 2022 season, Link told URA board members in 2023.