PPG Paints Arena

Soon after buying the Penguins in 1999, Mario Lemieux began exploring a replacement for Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the oldest arena in the NHL (built in 1961). In an attempt not to use public funding, the Penguins filed for a slots license under the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The Penguins were granted the license, though the decision of which casino company would receive approval was the Gaming Control Board's decision. The Lemieux Group reached an agreement with Isle of Capri Casinos, which offered to fully fund a US$290 million arena, if Capri could also construct a $500 million casino nearby. Other casinos, including Majestic Star Casino and Forest City Enterprises, also agreed to partially contribute to the arena's funding. On December 20, 2006, the Gaming Control Board awarded the license to Majestic Star Casino, who agreed to pay $7.5 million for the first 30 years, in addition to the Penguins paying $4 million per year. The casino experienced financial difficulty, which could have led to taxpayers financing the entire project. However, on August 14, 2008, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board selected Neil Bluhm to take ownership of the casinos, which pulled the casinos out of risk of bankruptcy. The casino, now known as the Rivers Casino, eventually opened on August 9, 2009, in the North Side Chateau neighborhood. 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. 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. 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. The arena was originally scheduled to open for the 2009–10 NHL season; however, this was pushed back to the 2010–11 NHL season. The arena was expected to cost approximately $290 million, but rose to $321 million due to increased cost of steel and insurance. The Penguins agreed to pay $3.8 million per year toward construction, with an additional $400,000 per year toward capital improvements. After $31 million cost rise, the Penguins pledged an additional $15.5 million, while the State and Sports and Exhibition Authority split the difference. 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". ==Design and construction==

Populous, designers of PNC Park and Heinz Field, designed the building working with local architect Astorino to develop the construction documents, while the ICON Venue group and Oxford Development oversaw the building of the arena. The arena was originally named for Consol Energy, the largest producer of bituminous coal in the United States, The final years of the Civic Arena were without a pouring rights contract due to its impending demolition. In this time, Coca-Cola retained pouring rights in fountains (seemingly due to the cost of a large scale changeover) and Dr Pepper/7 Up products were exclusively sold in bottles. This is one of the few times that a venue this large has sold products from competing soft drink companies. As with most other NHL arenas, the Penguins make use of a goal horn whenever the team scores a goal at home. It is also played just before the beginning of a home game, and after the Penguins win. Their current goal horn, made by Nathan Manufacturing, Inc. and introduced in 2005 to coincide with the arrival of Sidney Crosby to the team, was brought over from the Civic Arena to the PPG Paints Arena after the Penguins closed the Civic Arena. ==Hockey==

Penguins window. 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 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field. The two skated for about five minutes before being joined on the ice by a group of young hockey fans all wearing Lemieux's #66 or Crosby's #87 jerseys. 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. Collegiate On July 13, 2010, the arena was selected to host the 2013 NCAA Frozen Four, scheduled for April 11 and 13, 2013. The Penguins along with Robert Morris University hosted the first NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey championship held in the state of Pennsylvania; the event also marked the first time that an NCAA championship game in a major team sport had been held in the city of Pittsburgh. "We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen to host the 2013 Frozen Four at the (Consol Energy Center)," RMU head men's ice hockey coach Derek Schooley said. "The Frozen Four will be a major showcase for the city of Pittsburgh as well as our emerging hockey program. This is one of the NCAA's premier events, and Robert Morris and the city of Pittsburgh will be an excellent host." ==Basketball==

Both the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University have dedicated locker rooms in the arena for use by the schools' basketball teams. Duquesne had hosted three prior times at Civic Arena: 1997, 2001 (women's) and 2002. The Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament was held at PPG Paints Arena in March 2017, and again in March 2026. 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. Since 2023, PPG Paints Arena has hosted the annual Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic featuring top local boys' and girls' high school basketball teams. 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. ==Arena football==

Shortly after PPG Paints was built, the Arena Football League considered starting an expansion team in the arena, but the league folded in August 2009. However, after a two-year hiatus, the AFL returned and eyed an expansion team in Pittsburgh. On August 19, 2010, news sources reported that PPG Paints Arena would be home to the Pittsburgh Power, which began play in the spring of 2011. The team's ownership group includes former Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Lynn Swann. Pittsburgh was the 5th city added for the 2011 AFL season, joining the San Jose SaberCats, Kansas City Command, New Orleans VooDoo and Philadelphia Soul – who were all previous members of the Arena Football League. In nine home games, the Power averaged 9,197 fans per game, a figure that included an audience of 13,904 that showed up for the season opener against the Philadelphia Soul. Overall, the Power ranked sixth among the 18 Arena Football League teams in average attendance through 17 games that season, and its average attendance was about 1,000 people more than the AFL average. ==Gymnastics==

In 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. ==Wrestling==

The 2019 NCAA Division I men's wrestling championship was held at the arena in March 2019. ==Volleyball==

In December 2019, PPG Paints Arena hosted the finals of the 2019 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament. In September 2025, PPG Paints Arena hosted the nationally-televised State Farm Women's College Volleyball Showcase, featuring local squads from Pitt and Penn State, along with Arizona State and TCU. ==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. ==Transportation access==

PPG Paints Arena is served by exits at Mile 1 of Interstate 579 and exits 70A and 72B of Interstate 376; it is also within 1 mile of Interstate 279. Three blocks to the west of the center is the Steel Plaza transit station of the Pittsburgh subway system. Notable events • The arena opened on August 18, 2010, with a performance by Paul McCartney. ==In media==

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. Grudge Match a 2013 film shot its climactic fight scene at the PPG Paints Arena. ==See also==