Thoughts On Consol Energy Center...

[Caps Revenge]

I'm not sure how many of you have had the chance to get down to a game yet, but I wanted to get the opinions of those who've been there. I've gone to five games so far and I must admit that I'm liking it more each and every time. My first game was in the preseason against Chicago...my first impression was that I wasn't overly impressed. Maybe I'm just old and missed the nostalgia of The Igloo, but Consol kinda seemed "typical" and I wasn't overwhelmed.

With that said, I have changed my opinion...some of the features are really cool...besides the obvious lighting and sound improvements, some of the things I like most are:

1. The Mario Collage: From twenty feet away, it looks like a regular painting on the wall. When you look at it up close and realize it's made of thousands of different photographs, it gives you a better grasp of just what an awesome display of art that it really is.
2. The Stanley Cup Touch Screen: There's an image of the Stanley Cup that you can turn or flip in any direction and zoom in or out simply by using the touch screen. For those who've never seen the Cup, it's quite interesting.
3. The Giant Murals of Sid and Geno: They make a Fathead look like a gnat on an elephant's butt.
4. The Exterior Glass Walls: When you're walking through the arena, as opposed to looking at concrete walls, you can see the skyline of the city. (Which by the way, is beautiful)

Those are a few of the things I like most. All and all I'd give it a B+ as the ice still sucks and some sections of steps already look like they're ten years old.

 

[loki604]

I agree with almost all of what you said. I was a bit disappointed when I first went in for the tour, but I honestly think that was Igloo nostalgic...as much of a dump as it was.

Some other things I liked besides the ones you mentioned....

1. The displays on the first level...of pictures/descriptions of key moments in Penguins history. Hard to describe, but they are basically player-sized with one life-size image captured and a paragraph or so beneath. They just look really classy and bring a lot of history to the building....I remember most of them being older Pens....I think I remember seeing just two recent ones (one was Crosby's Winter Classic goal).

2. Sightlines - Honestly don't think you can appreciate these until you get "shitty" seats...I was sitting in the corner in the 200 level where the Pens shoot once and I still thought they were awesome seats. Seriously probably some of "the worst seats in the bulding" and they were still great.

I said this when I first saw the arena...hard for me to get over the nostalgia of the Igloo, but I think they made every decision in this building with hockey on their minds, and I love them for it.

 

[dare2be]

I hope to give my first impression of the CEC this December 20th or 22nd.

 

[pixburgher66]

I gotta wait until the 28th to get my view...*sigh* Sounds lovely. My father's only complaint was that the seats were still too close together (he's 6'4" and ALWAYS ends up sitting next to another huge guy) and there wasn't quite enough leg room...but that has a lot to do with the fact that we're up in the 200s on the ends when we go...not the BEST seats in the house.

 

[Caps Revenge]

I gotta wait until the 28th to get my view...*sigh* Sounds lovely. My father's only complaint was that the seats were still too close together (he's 6'4" and ALWAYS ends up sitting next to another huge guy) and there wasn't quite enough leg room...but that has a lot to do with the fact that we're up in the 200s on the ends when we go...not the BEST seats in the house.

The seats ARE too close together! It's also very steep in the upper level. Another complaint I have is that not all seats have cup holders. I kinda assumed that was an automatic in ANY stadium or arena in this day and age!

The pros still definitely trump the cons...Real nice place.

 

[evolver115]

I was in town for the Oct. 13th game against Toronto. Was a loss for the Pens, but my thoughts on the arena were that they outdid themselves. What I appreciated the most about the building is the brightness and sight lines to the ice. There really isn't a bad seat in the house.

I was in the upper level behind the net where the opponent shoots twice, and even from the level I was at, I didn't feel like I was too far away from the action to enjoy the game.

As for the building itself, it's beautiful. You can tell the designers and architects took their time and made the building a cathedral of hockey. I loved the jerseys in the lower wing of the WPIAL schools in the area. I think that pays a great homage to the love of ice hockey in Western Pa., and I appreciated that the most, outside of the great views of the rink.

 

[Caps Revenge]

I was in town for the Oct. 13th game against Toronto. Was a loss for the Pens, but my thoughts on the arena were that they outdid themselves. What I appreciated the most about the building is the brightness and sight lines to the ice. There really isn't a bad seat in the house.

I was in the upper level behind the net where the opponent shoots twice, and even from the level I was at, I didn't feel like I was too far away from the action to enjoy the game.

As for the building itself, it's beautiful. You can tell the designers and architect's took their time and made the building a cathedral of hockey. I loved the jerseys in the lower wing of the WPIAL schools in the area. I think that pays a great homage to the love of ice hockey in Western Pa., and I appreciated that the most, outside of the great views of the rink.

Those were in The Igloo too. Totally agree though, it's a nice touch. I look at them everytime I'm there.

 

[evolver115]

Those were in The Igloo too. Totally agree though, it's a nice touch. I look at them everytime I'm there.

They were, but the display that accompanies them is much, much better. I don't feel like I'm walking through a basement looking at jersey's hanging on cinder blocks.

The igloo, for all the nostalgia that was there, was a dump. This is like going from the outhouse to the penthouse. I'm sure the opposition feels the same when they step into the new locker room and see that everyone can actually sit in the same room.

 

[dare2be]

I hope to give my first impression of the CEC this December 20th or 22nd.

Quoting myself to make sure my not-so-subtle hint at wanting help getting tickets is noticed.

 

[pixburgher66]

Quoting myself to make sure my not-so-subtle hint at wanting help getting tickets is noticed.

I think that my source with season tickets was looking for someone to take seats on the 22nd....I think it was a group of 5.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Haven't been there specifically, but a general comment is that I don't really like any of the new arenas. They're all too much the same.

I'm most familiar with the old Aud in Buffalo, but you had the boards that jumped to the third row when a player got hit and the upper deck that was so steep that you needed a Sherpa guide and a harness to get to your seats.

Or MLG where they had the awkwardly shaped corners.

Or the lack of glass behind the home bench at the Forum (not to mention an awesome exterior design).

EDIT: Or for that matter, the ridiculously high (and bizarre) ceiling at the Igloo.

 

[loki604]

I don't remember posting in this thread last night.