Arena #17 - Consol Energy Center

My mission is to see the Flames play in all 30 NHL arenas, a mission that began in October of 2005 while at a local pub watching the Flames take on the Oilers. With the previous season’s work stoppage, and the season before’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Flames tickets had become a very hard item to come by. I was then struck with the idea of combining two of my favourite activities; watching hockey and travelling. You can follow my quest to visit all 30 arenas right here…


November 27, 2010 – Pittsburgh, PA



Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA

 After visiting New York and Philadelphia, Pittsburgh seems quite docile.  There doesn't seem to be any energy or any character, and fans don't yell things at opposing fans or players, or at vendors, or at passing cars.  The people of Pittsburgh seem to be more like, well, Canadians.  With their timidness, there wasn't a lot of anxiety walking into the Consol Energy Center on Saturday afternoon.

Pittsburgh is home to the NHL's newest arena, with the Flames being the opponent in only the 13th game there.  Tickets had been hard to find leading up to the game, so much so that we didn't have any yet when we arrived in Pittsburgh following the Flyers game on Friday.  In the morning before the game, tickets started to become available on the Penguins' website, but wouldn't accept my credit card because I don't have a ZIP code!  Furious, and worried we wouldn't be able to see the game, we raced to the arena to check the box office.  The same tickets I had seen on-line were available, so we weren't going to be watching from the pub across the street.

I had never realized this before, but Pittsburgh is very, very hilly, and the Consol Energy Center sits on the side of a hill, overlooking downtown.  It is also across the street from the Penguins former home, the Mellon Arena.  Like with any new arena, this place boasted many non-Saddledome features, such as wide concourses, escalators, and good traffic flow into the washrooms.  The seating bowl is open to the concourses as well, meaning you can see the ice when you're racing to your seat from the beer stand at the start of the period.



Tim Horton's Cafe and Bake Shop

 As far as concessions go, there isn't anything too memorable.  I did have a 'meatball grinder', which is just a tasty meatball sub covered in cheese.  There was a unique vendor however, as the Consol Energy Center had several Tim Horton's outlets.  Except, and this goes for all the locations we saw in New York and New Jersey as well, they are called 'Tim Horton's Cafe and Bake Shops.'  They're obviously a lot smaller than your typical Tim's outlet, and sell only beverages and timbits.  It also had a line up three time longer than any for beer.

As I mentioned earlier, Penguin fans are a lot quieter than those in Philly or New York.  Of course they cheer, but usually only when told to do so by the jumbotron or after a goal.  This was so different from the Flyers game, where people were yelling random comments throughout the entire game.  The only comment I received from a Penguins fan was a 'thanks for coming to the game.'  (I'm not kidding, a fan said that o me.)  I suppose Philadelphia and New York are the exception, with everywhere else being the rule.

The Penguins fans wear a lot of jerseys, much more so then in Philly or New York, but never have I seen such consistency with the numbers fans select.  By my rough estimate, Crosby, Lemieux accounted for about 70% and 25% respectively of all the jerseys worn in Pittsburgh.  The rest was a mix of lesser knowns such as Fleury and Jagr.  Sure, there are more Iginla jerseys in Calgary than any other, but you also see a variety of players.

Two things at the Cosol Energy Center that really impressed me were the programs and the pre-game introduction.  First off, everybody who came through the door received a program.  While this isn't necessarily unique (it's also done in Phoenix, LA, and Anaheim), what was interesting was how current it was.  The program had detailed information about the Flames, including player stats, which were current through the Rangers game on Monday, less than a week earlier.  I've never seen such an up-to-date program before.   As for the pre-game introduction, instead of having the same pre-recorded intro for every game, as almost every other team does, the Penguins had a unique one for this game, which talked about the Flames and had clips of the last time the two teams played each other.

What can I say about the game?  The Penguins rolled over the Flames with a 4-1 victory, in a game where the Flames were clearly exhausted and in need of a return home.  The only reason this game wasn't 15-1 was the exceptional play of Mikka Kipprusoff, who only allowed three goals on 41 shots.  Again, he received little to no support from his teammates and was probably left wondering why he didn't stay in Finland.

To make things worse, the brunt of the Penguins' attack was lead by none other than Sidney Crosby, who recorded a hat trick on the night.  Of course it included an empty net goal, and as Al Iafrate once said, 'empty net goals are for pussies.'  I'm not a big fan of 'Sid the Kid' and haven't been since he entered the league, when he led the NHL in diving penalties.  I understand he's a great player and I can respect his skill, but it doesn't mean I need to cheer for him.

Now I'm hitting the road to return to Toronto, then back to Calgary.  While I'd wish my trip was still going, I'm sure the Flames and Flames fans are glad to see this one over.


Consol Energy Center Fast Facts


Seats: Section 109; $135, ticketmaster
Score: Flames 1, Penguins 4
Arena Rating: 7.9
Unique Concession: Meatball Grinder
Souvenir Stick: Penguins, platic
Public Transit: unknown
Unique Arena Trait: You can see the ice from the councourses
Swag: Program

-TheRev


twitter.com/TheRevBW
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