PPG Paints Arena
The Penguins' home since 2010: opened as Consol Energy Center, the first LEED gold-certified arena in the NHL.
PPG Paints Arena is the indoor arena in Pittsburgh where the Penguins have played since the 2010–11 season. A ceremonial ground-breaking was held on August 14, 2008, and construction was finished on August 1, 2010. It replaced the Civic Arena (Mellon Arena), the club's home since 1967, which had been completed in 1961. The building opened as Consol Energy Center, after Consol Energy bought the naming rights in December 2008, and has carried its present name since October 2016, when Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries took over the rights. From 2011 to 2014 it was also home to the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League.
Quick Facts
- Nickname
- The Paint Can; The House that Crosby Built
- Address
- 1001 Fifth Avenue
- Location
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Groundbreaking
- August 14, 2008
- Built
- August 2008 – August 2010
- Opened
- August 18, 2010
- Owner
- Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
- Operator
- Anschutz Entertainment Group
Facts from the source article.
Background
Soon after buying the Penguins in 1999, Mario Lemieux started looking for a replacement for the Civic Arena, then the oldest arena in the NHL. To avoid public money the club first applied for a slots licence, with Isle of Capri Casinos offering to pay for a $290 million arena if it could build a casino nearby. The design is by Populous, the firm behind PNC Park and Heinz Field, working with local architect Astorino. Its first renderings drew criticism from the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission in April 2008, and revised plans were approved unanimously that May. Lemieux and Sidney Crosby officially opened the new ice on July 27, 2010.
Did You Know?
- The hockey capacity of 18,087 honours Sidney Crosby's number 87.
- The arena has 66 suites, in honour of Mario Lemieux's number 66.
- The shovels used at the ground-breaking had shafts made from Crosby's used hockey sticks.
- It was the first LEED gold-certified arena in both the NHL and the Arena Football League.
- Soon after opening it was named Best New Major Concert Venue at the Pollstar awards and Best NHL Arena in a Sports Business Journal reader poll.
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