PPG Paints Arena
The Paint Can The House that Steel Plaza | |
Owner | Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County |
---|---|
Operator | Anschutz Entertainment Group |
Capacity | Ice hockey: 18,187 Basketball: 19,000 Arena football: 16,280 End stage: 14,536 Center stage: 19,758[1] |
Field size | 720,000 sq ft (67,000 m2) |
Surface | Multi-surface (ice) |
Scoreboard | 15x25 Mitsubishi "Black-Packaged LED" |
Construction | |
Broke ground | August 14, 2008 |
Built | August 2008 – August 2010 |
Opened | August 18, 2010 |
Construction cost | US$321 million ($454 million in 2023 dollars)[2] |
Architect | Populous (formerly HOK Sport)[3] Astorino[4] Architectural Innovations[4] Fukui Architects[4] Lami Grubb[4] |
Project manager | ICON Venue Group[5] |
Structural engineer | Thornton Tomasetti/Raudenbush |
Services engineer | M-E Engineers, Inc. |
General contractor | Hunt Construction Group[6] |
Main contractors | Oxford Development Pittsburgh Arena Development, LP |
Tenants | |
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) (2010–present) Pittsburgh Power (AFL) (2011–2014) |
PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2011 to 2014.
Construction was completed on August 1, 2010,
Planning and funding
Soon after buying the Penguins in 1999,
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.[21] During negotiations, the Penguins explored moving the franchise to Kansas City or Las Vegas (the latter of which received an NHL expansion team in 2017); after the deal was made the Penguins agreed to stay in Pittsburgh for at least 30 more years.[21] 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.[22] The arena was originally scheduled to open for the 2009–10 NHL season; however, this was pushed back to the 2010–11 NHL season.[23][24] The arena was expected to cost approximately $290 million, but rose to $321 million due to increased cost of steel and insurance.[25][26] The Penguins agreed to pay $3.8 million per year toward construction, with an additional $400,000 per year toward capital improvements.[21] After $31 million cost rise, the Penguins pledged an additional $15.5 million, while the State and Sports and Exhibition Authority split the difference.[25][26] 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".[27]
Design and construction
"This is going to be, technologically, one of the most advanced buildings in the country."
—David Morehouse, Penguins president[32]
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.
Mario Lemieux along with officials from the state and local governments ceremonially broke ground on a new hockey arena on August 14, 2008.[38] Shovels, with shafts made from team captain Sidney Crosby's used hockey sticks, were used for the ground-breaking ceremony.[39][40] Erection of structural steel took place from January 2009[36] to August 2009.[41] 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.[42]
The arena was originally named for
PPG Paints Arena is one of the only major sports venues whose
As with most other NHL arenas, the Penguins make use of a
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
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.[51] 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."[52]
The Penguins officially opened the building on October 7, 2010, against their
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.[55]
During the 2011 off-season, 300 seats were added, increasing the hockey seating capacity from 18,087 to 18,387.[56]
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 (home of the Sharks), 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.[57] 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.[58]
Collegiate
On July 13, 2010, the arena was selected to host the
In December 2012, the arena began hosting the Three Rivers Classic, a two-day Division I college ice hockey tournament. The inaugural tournament took place on December 28–29, 2012 and featured teams from Penn State, Robert Morris, Ohio State and Miami (Ohio). Robert Morris won the first Classic title in a 1–0 win over Miami. The 2013 Classic featured Robert Morris and Penn State as the permanent fixtures, and also featured Boston College and Bowling Green University, with Boston College winning 8–2 over Penn State in the championship game. Meanwhile, teams such as Michigan and Minnesota are seen as potential participants for upcoming Classics.[60]
The first collegiate event at PPG Paints Arena was the fifth-annual College Hockey Showcase on October 17, 2010, hosted by Robert Morris. In the event's first game the
In conjunction with the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, held on January 2 at nearby Heinz Field, a collegiate game and an American Hockey League (AHL) game were contested at PPG Paints Arena on December 30, 2010. The first game matched the RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team against the Robert Morris Colonials; RIT won 4–3. The second game matched the top-level affiliates of the two Winter Classic teams (the Penguins and the Washington Capitals), the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Hershey Bears; the Bears won 1–0.
Basketball
Both the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University have dedicated locker rooms in the arena for use by the schools' basketball teams.[62] Both schools made their first appearance on December 1, 2010, in the City Game, the first ever basketball game hosted in the venue. A neutral venue, Pitt was designated as the home team for the game,[63] which the Panthers won 80–66. The first points at the arena were made by Duquesne freshman guard T. J. McConnell, with a basket at 27 seconds into the game.[64]
The arena hosted the 2010
Duquesne hosted three home games in the 2010–11 season: on December 12 against
Duquesne hosted round of 64 and round of 32 games of the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at the arena and hosted the round of 64 and round of 32 again in 2015. Duquesne had hosted three prior times at Civic Arena: 1997, 2001 (women's) and 2002. In 2022 Duquesne hosted the Round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
During his tenure as Commissioner of the NBA, David Stern mentioned the arena as a possible home for an NBA franchise should one move to Pittsburgh.[67]
For their 2017–18 season and part of the 2018–19 season, the arena served as the home of the Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball team for several games while the new UPMC Events Center was constructed on campus.
Arena football
Shortly after PPG Paints was built, the
Gymnastics
In 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions.[73]
Wrestling
The 2019 NCAA Division I men's wrestling championship was held at the arena in March 2019.[74]
Professional wrestling
The arena has hosted various WWE pay-per-views and premium live events, including Royal Rumble in 2014, Roadblock: End of the Line in 2016, Extreme Rules in 2018 and Payback in 2023. It has also hosted various Raw and SmackDown TV shows. The arena planned to host Raw on March 16, 2020, but on March 12, the show, along with all other WWE events at that time, were canceled and relocated to the WWE Performance Center due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[75]
Transportation access
PPG Paints Arena is served by exits at Mile 1 of
Events
The arena opened on August 18, 2010, with a performance by Paul McCartney.[76] The demand for the first show was so great that tickets sold out within five minutes of going on sale. This prompted the addition of a second show, a day later on August 19.[77] Originally, Pittsburgh's own Christina Aguilera was planning to open the arena on August 3, 2010. Due to conflicts with construction, Aguilera canceled her show.
Other performers during the arena's first month included Lady Gaga, Roger Waters and Rush. George Strait, Reba McEntire, and Lee Ann Womack performed at the arena on October 14, 2010.
Justin Bieber performed on both his My World Tour on December 13, 2010, and on his Believe Tour on November 20, 2012, both to sell-out crowds.
Cher performed at the venue during her Dressed To Kill Tour on April 2, 2014.
On February 17, 2016, Carrie Underwood brought her Storyteller Tour to a sold-out crowd with her critically acclaimed 360 degree stage stretching the whole arena floor.
Coldplay performed at the arena on August 4, 2016, to a sold-out crowd as part of their A Head Full of Dreams Tour.[78]
Harry Styles performed at the arena on October 14, 2021, as part of his Love On Tour.
Fictional portrayals
Justified, an FX television drama that debuted in March 2010, used the center's final construction phase as a filming location to depict the "new Federal Courthouse" on the show.[79]
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Owen, Rob (March 16, 2010). "'Justified' Another Worthy FX Offering". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.