PPG Paints Arena
PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League from 2011 to 2014.
Construction was completed on August 1, 2010, and the arena opened in time for the 2010–11 NHL season. It replaced the Penguins' former arena, Civic Arena, which was completed in 1961. A ceremonial ground-breaking was held on August 14, 2008. The arena is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold-certified arena in both the NHL and AFL. Soon after the arena opened in 2010 it was named "Best New Major Concert Venue" in the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards and "Best NHL Arena" in the Sports Business Journal reader poll. The arena was originally named Consol Energy Center after Consol Energy purchased the naming rights in December 2008. The current name comes from Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries, who purchased naming rights in October 2016.
Planning and funding
Soon after buying the Penguins in 1999, Mario Lemieux began exploring a replacement for Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the oldest arena in the NHL. In an attempt not to use public funding, the Penguins filed for a slots license under the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The Penguins were granted the license, though the decision of which casino company would receive approval was the Gaming Control Board's decision. The Lemieux Group reached an agreement with Isle of Capri Casinos, which offered to fully fund a US$290 million arena, if Capri could also construct a $500 million casino nearby. Other casinos, including Majestic Star Casino and Forest City Enterprises, also agreed to partially contribute to the arena's funding. On December 20, 2006, the Gaming Control Board awarded the license to Majestic Star Casino, who agreed to pay $7.5 million for the first 30 years, in addition to the Penguins paying $4 million per year. The casino experienced financial difficulty, which could have led to taxpayers financing the entire project. However, on August 14, 2008, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board selected Neil Bluhm to take ownership of the casinos, which pulled the casinos out of risk of bankruptcy. The casino, now known as the Rivers Casino, eventually opened on August 9, 2009, in the North Side Chateau neighborhood.The arena's funding plan was agreed upon by Lemieux, Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell on March 13, 2007, after much negotiation. During negotiations, the Penguins explored moving the franchise to Kansas City or Las Vegas ; after the deal was made the Penguins agreed to stay in Pittsburgh for at least 30 more years. Lemieux later stated that relocating the franchise was never a possibility, but instead it was a negotiation tactic to help the team get funding for the arena from both state and local officials. The arena was originally scheduled to open for the 2009–10 NHL season; however, this was pushed back to the 2010–11 NHL season. The arena was expected to cost approximately $290 million, but rose to $321 million due to increased cost of steel and insurance. The Penguins agreed to pay $3.8 million per year toward construction, with an additional $400,000 per year toward capital improvements. After $31 million cost rise, the Penguins pledged an additional $15.5 million, while the State and Sports and Exhibition Authority split the difference. In September 2009, the State contributed an additional $5.08 million from the "Pennsylvania Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund" to cover a rising "interest on variable rate bonds".
Design and construction
, designers of PNC Park and Heinz Field, designed the building working with local architect Astorino to develop the construction documents, while the ICON Venue group and Oxford Development oversaw the building of the arena. More than a dozen buildings were razed in order to create room for the new arena. On April 8, 2008, Populous presented design renderings to the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission, receiving negative feedback. Local architect Rob Pfaffmann went so far as to say, "If I put a Home Depot sign on that, it looks like a Home Depot." Populous returned on May 6 with new plans, which were unanimously approved by the City Planning Commission.The Penguins have contacted the Pittsburgh Technology Council, which includes 1,400 businesses, in order to find new technologies to implement into the arena's design. On demand replays from touch-screens will be available in luxury suites, while "Yinz Cam"—a system developed by Carnegie Mellon University students—will allow any fans to view instant replays from multiple angles on their cell phones. The arena's capacity will be 18,087 for hockey, in honor of Sidney Crosby's number 87, and 19,000 for basketball games. The venue will hold 14,536 to 19,758 for concerts, depending on the layout. The venue will also include 1,950 club seats and 66 suites, in honor of Mario Lemieux's number 66. Ticket prices will range from $115,000 to $150,000 per season for luxury boxes to individual game tickets at $22. Ken Sawyer, Penguins' chief executive officer, asked that the interior be modeled after that of the venue then known as Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. "I was just taken aback by their seats," said Sawyer, "Even when I was up in a high level, I had a great view." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called the building "very well designed." Bettman liked the size of the concourses and the view offered of Pittsburgh's skyline.
Mario Lemieux along with officials from the state and local governments ceremonially broke ground on a new hockey arena on August 14, 2008. Shovels, with shafts made from team captain Sidney Crosby's used hockey sticks, were used for the ground-breaking ceremony. Erection of structural steel took place from January 2009 to August 2009. While the arena was under construction, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, and brought the Cup to the arena's construction site on July 9, 2009, during the offseason.
The arena was originally named for Consol Energy, the largest producer of bituminous coal in the United States, which signed a 21-year agreement with the Penguins in December 2008. Secondary sponsors of the arena are PNC Wealth Management, UPMC, Verizon, American Eagle Outfitters, and Dick's Sporting Goods, the last three being existing sponsors carrying over from the Civic Arena. On October 4, 2016, PPG Industries purchased the naming rights from Consol as a result of Consol wanting to get out of the naming rights deal due to the company struggling financially as a result of low energy prices. Consol, which is also planning on letting its naming rights deal for Consol Energy Park expire, will remain a corporate sponsor with the Penguins in a lesser role.
Prior to 2024, PPG Paints Arena was one of the only major sports venues whose soft drink contract was not with The Coca-Cola Company or PepsiCo. Instead, Dr Pepper Snapple Group held a contract, and served its own products such as RC Cola, Diet Rite, Cherikee Red, and Sunkist Orange Soda, in addition to its more popular brands such as Dr Pepper, 7 Up, and A&W Root Beer that are typically sold alongside Coca-Cola or Pepsi products in other venues. At the time of the arena's opening, Heinz Field sold Coca-Cola products and PNC Park sold Pepsi products, making Pittsburgh's three major sporting venues initially each selling different soft drinks. In 2012, Heinz Field joined PNC Park in pouring Pepsi products, breaking a 50-year commitment with Coca-Cola, while PNC Park switched to Coca-Cola products for 2014. The final years of the Civic Arena were without a pouring rights contract due to its impending demolition. In this time, Coca-Cola retained pouring rights in fountains and Dr Pepper/7 Up products were exclusively sold in bottles. This is one of the few times that a venue this large has sold products from competing soft drink companies.
As of July, 2024, Coca-Cola is the official in-game beverage provider of PPG Paints Arena
As with most other NHL arenas, the Penguins make use of a goal horn whenever the team scores a goal at home. It is also played just before the beginning of a home game, and after the Penguins win. Their current goal horn, made by Nathan Manufacturing, Inc. and introduced in 2005 to coincide with the arrival of Sidney Crosby to the team, was brought over from the Civic Arena to the PPG Paints Arena after the Penguins closed the Civic Arena.
Hockey
Penguins
Team owner Mario Lemieux and captain Sidney Crosby officially opened the new ice on July 27, 2010, the same day as the official press conference to announce the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field. The two skated for about five minutes before being joined on the ice by a group of young hockey fans all wearing Lemieux's #66 or Crosby's #87 jerseys.The Penguins opened the arena with a pre-season game on September 22, 2010, with a 5–1 win over the rival Detroit Red Wings. Penguins forward Mike Comrie scored the first goal in the new arena, 81 seconds into the game. The team also added a third home pre-season game to the schedule. Team President David Morehouse said, "Our feeling is that more fans will want the chance to see and experience Consol Energy Center, so we thought it made sense to add the third preseason home game."
The Penguins officially opened the building on October 7, 2010, against their cross-state rivals Philadelphia Flyers, with the Penguins falling 3–2. The first goal was scored by the Flyers forward Daniel Brière at 2:51 in the 2nd period, a power play goal. The first Penguin goal was scored by forward Tyler Kennedy 44 seconds into the third period. The stars of the game were awarded to Kennedy, Claude Giroux and Flyers rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 29 of 31 saves in his NHL debut. The Penguins earned their first win at the arena on October 15, 2010, against the New York Islanders, prevailing on an overtime power-play goal by defenseman Alex Goligoski. It was also the first overtime game at the new arena. Goaltender Brent Johnson earned the win for the Penguins, making 22 saves.
The first playoff game in PPG Paints Arena was against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 13, 2011. The first playoff goal in the building was scored by Alexei Kovalev. The Penguins would go on to win the first playoff game by a score of 3–0. Marc-André Fleury had a 32-save shutout. The Penguins would go on to lose in seven games.
During the 2011 off-season, 300 seats were added, increasing the hockey seating capacity from 18,087 to 18,387.
PPG Paints Arena hosted its first Stanley Cup Finals in 2016, which saw the Penguins defeat the San Jose Sharks in six games to clinch its fourth Cup. Although the Penguins clinched the Cup at the SAP Center, PPG Paints did host a watch party for what turned out to be the series-clinching game, charging $10 for admission with all proceeds going to the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. Concessions and the team store were open, and the arena's goal horn played after every Penguins goal just like at a regular home game. The arena hosted a similar watch party the following year for game six while the Penguins played the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, which like the year before turned out to be the series-clinching game for the Penguins' fifth Cup.