http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A view of the Penguins first home Mellon Arena and the new Consol Energy Center from Grandview Park on Mt. Washington.
Jasmine Goldband Tribune-Review
It has already been announced that the Lady Gaga concert will be one of the first events in the ever-evolving Consol Energy Center.
The Penguins are more confident than ever that their new palace is going have Penguins fans going ga-ga for quite some time.
Looking more like a proud father than the Penguins CEO, Ken Sawyer showed off the most recent developments Tuesday at Consol Energy Center, which included the placement of about 2,700 of the arena's 18,087 seats.
The seats are primarily charcoal mixed with an occasional row of gold.
"It looks great," Sawyer said. "Every time you come here, you notice something different. It's getting better and better. We're all very excited."
Consol Energy Center's timeline is starting to become clear. Some facts were confirmed by Penguins officials yesterday.
» The scoreboard will be erected in April and tested in May. In fact, components of the scoreboard are currently being placed together on the arena floor.
» The Penguins will move into their new offices in July.
» Consol Energy Center will officially open in August.
» The Lady Gaga Concert, scheduled for Sept. 5, will not be the first event at the new arena. An August concert will likely open the arena, though no announcement has been made
A few sections of seats have been installed in the arena's upper bowl, and Sawyer was eager to show off the improvements from Mellon Arena. The seats at Consol Energy Center are bigger and more comfortable than anything Penguins fans have experienced before.
"We wanted everything in this building to be cutting edge, and it really is," Sawyer said.
Unobstructed views will be a new thing for Penguins fans. Many of Mellon Arena's seats are under a balcony that prohibits fans from seeing the scoreboard, and others showcase a less than savory view of the ice.
Such things will be a thing of the past starting next season.
"There is no obstruction anywhere," Sawyer said. "It is so much more comfortable of an environment."
The Consol Energy Center is much bigger than Mellon Arena, especially the massive concourses that have been modeled after Minnesota's Xcel Center.
However, the Penguins didn't want their new building to feel overwhelming or overdone.
Sawyer describes the new place as "cozy."
Fans in the upper bowl will notice how close they feel to the ice. Although the seats are high, they are located almost directly above the ice, something that has become fashionable in new arenas.
"They'll feel like they're right on top of the players when they're watching games from here," said Sawyer, who was sitting in the upper bowl in Section 227. "Hockey purists really love that. There are truly no bad seats in this place."
The seats were made for comfort and won't discriminate against larger individuals.
The upper bowl seats at Consol Energy Center are 20 inches wide, compared to the 19-inch seats at Mellon Arena. On the lower level of the new building, the seats will be 20-22 inches wide.
Sawyer was even more excited about the "rise" and "tread" of the seats, which indicates the actual size of the seating area. The tread of the seats is 33 inches in the higher level and 35 inches in the lower bowl, making for a comfortable experience that will be without interference. Because the seats are so steep, even a tall person sitting in a row in front of a fan will not obstruct anyone's view.
"There's not another experience around the league that's like this," Sawyer said.
The Penguins have taken some of the finest features from the most highly regarded arenas around the league, especially those in Minnesota and Columbus. Sawyer said the arena is right on schedule.
"I couldn't be more pleased with the way things have gone," he said. "Everyone involved in this project has really been great. It's going to be a special place, and it's nice to see it coming together like it is."
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