Home to the 5 Time Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins

Tom McMillan, Vice President of Communications for the Penguins, took us around the Arena to give us a behind the scenes look at where some of the fun happens.

PPG Paints Arena was built in 2010 and was originally named CONSOL Energy Center. CONSOL backed out of the naming rights in 2016 and it became PPG Paints Arena. One main thing remained the same, it is home to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins were founded by Jack McGregor in 1967 as part of the Expansion Draft. He wanted to bring an NHL team to Pittsburgh because the city was already a football and baseball town so he wanted to make it a hockey town. Everyone doubted him, not believing that hockey would grow in the Steel City. Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers, however, believed it would great thing for the city and decided to call around. After spreading the word, Pittsburgh was selected to be part of the 1967 Expansion Draft.

The original home of the Pens was Civic Arena, built in 1961. It opened on September 17, 1961 and closed for good on June 26, 2010. The name Civic Arena lasted until 1999 when it was changed to Mellon Arena, but was changed back to Civic in 2010 after it closed. The Arena was nicknamed the Igloo because of its dome shape.

CONSOL Energy Center opened in 2011, beginning a new era. When it was being built, it was designed to support different events (hockey, concerts, etc.) and to show aspects of the city.

~The ceiling was left with the pipes exposed because it gives an industrial look that represents Pittsburgh’s steel industry.

~There are curtains at the upper level that are used to close off the seating and make the arena look smaller. For example, they will be closed when there are college games or a smaller event when fans only fill the lower bowl.

~When there are skating shows, like Disney on Ice, they have to make the ice thicker because of the moves they do. The ice is then shaved down for the hockey games.

~When laying the ice, they put a layer of ice then paint it before putting another layer of ice on top of that.

~The ice is melted when there are concerts.

~After the season is over, the ice is melted because it is too much to keep the building cool in the summer to keep the ice in good condition.

~The name was changed to PPG Paints Arena in 2016 because CONSOL backed out of naming rights. One of the reasons is because “sponsorship money is available with naming rights.”

~On the 200 level where the windows are, they can look out at the city. The purpose was because they get a “reverse view of the skyline that isn’t seen from the North Shore or when exiting the tunnels.”

~There are signs around the concourse indicating what section is in that area and where other places are located throughout the arena. There is a meaning behind the design of the signs. “The brown part represents steel, the three lines on the side represents the Three Rivers, and the scratched up glass is meant to look like the ice.”

When the Penguins called The Igloo home, they won 3 Stanley Cups in 1991, 1992, and 2009. As they call CONSOL/PPG Paints home, they have won 2 Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

We are the Champions!