Eat, Shop, Tour: Penguins Elevate the Fan Experience

Last season, the Penguins made significant capital upgrades to PPG Paints Arena for the first time since the building opened in 2010. They invested over $30 million in improvements, with the marquee addition being a brand-new, state-of-the-art scoreboard.

The Penguins are building on those improvements this season, as they’ve renovated PensGear; added specialty food and beverage items, stands, and concepts; integrated the Coca-Cola partnership in unique ways; and reinstituted the tour program.

“We know that Pittsburgh fans want their core items, whether that's in the retail store or in the land of concessions,” said John Sodini, Penguins VP of Arena Operations. “But what we want to do is make them Penguins-centric, hockey-centric, arena-centric… all of our concepts are geared towards the Penguins fan.”

That’s particularly evident from a food and beverage standpoint. One of the eight new Aramark concepts will really make you smile like a butcher’s dog, as it’s called ‘Mic Drop,’ and honors some of Mike Lange’s famous sayings.

Located in the Captain Morgan and FNB clubs, fans can grab a “Lord Stanley” sandwich with grilled shaved steak, provolone cheese, seasoned waffle fries, and coleslaw on an Italian hoagie roll or a “Sausalito Seal” sandwich with roasted buffalo chicken, cheddar jack cheese, gorgonzola crema, and fried onions on ciabatta.

Executive Chef Terry Davidson said the menu items received the Hall of Famer’s stamp of approval, and “he’s very excited… very honored to have his name on the sandwiches, and with all the slogans he did for so many years for the Pens, we're excited to do this for him.”

There’s also a Polish Hill Grill that pays homage to Pittsburgh favorites with pierogies and sausage, along with a North Shore nachos station, at section 105; Steel City smashburgers at section 108; and a street tacos concept called Tacos on 5^th at section 122.

One that I’m particularly excited about is Fuku, which features the O.G. Sando, a phenomenal crispy chicken sandwich by celebrity chef David Chang. I’ve eaten this while traveling with the team – it’s my go-to at Madison Square Garden. Knowing it will be available at PPG Paints Arena is a game-changer.

Something else that stood out to me is there will be vegetarian, gluten-free, and overall healthier selections – including street corn quinoa salad and rice bowls – for those who would like those options. I also thought it was cool how Davidson, whose background is in fine dining, integrated Coca-Cola into some of the meal options, like infusing pulled pork with the soda.

Davidson has worked with Aramark GM Matt Kingsley, who recently joined the Penguins from Citi Field. He brings a wealth of knowledge from other arenas around the country and is committed to making the food experience second to none.

As for PensGear, it was time to update and expand the store so the team could provide a more modern and comfortable experience, particularly on game nights. They closed for renovations over the summer, bringing the square footage to around 6,000 square feet to get more people inside. No more limiting capacity at game time! The Penguins also added TVs in and around the store so shoppers won’t miss a second of the action.

I found myself wanting to buy pretty much everything displayed in the store, with Aramark senior retail director Chuck Hogan saying “really, this is, this is probably the broadest assortment of Pens gear that you will find really anywhere. Other than jerseys, most of this stuff is really limited to here. Maybe a little bit online, but a lot of it's just exclusive to here. So, people can come in here and get product that they can't get anywhere else.”

Fans can stop into PensGear from 10 AM-4 PM every weekday, and they can also sign up for a tour, which will be offered weekly at 10 AM and 12 PM. The day is dependent on the Penguins schedule, as those participating will get to stop inside the locker room. It’s one way to give back to the people of Pittsburgh, who have invested in both the team and this arena.

“Over the last 12 years, we've done our best as stewards of this arena to give them not only the best experience on the ice, but coming here for concerts as well,” said Kevin Acklin, Penguins President of Business Operations.

“Together with our ownership at Fenway Sports Group, we're obviously really excited to have our captain Sidney Crosby signed to a two-year extension after this year. We're really excited to welcome him back, and Kyle Dubas and the team have done their best over the offseason to make the team better. So, puck drops here next week, and really excited to have everyone back here for the season.”