Rusty Hoke waited for hours outside the Consol Energy Center, the first person in line at one of the three entrances.

Of course, she wasn't there for the debut of Pittsburgh's newest arena. She and her friend were there to see Sir Paul McCartney, whose concert Wednesday night served as the venue's first event.

"We have seats in peanut heaven," said Ms. Hoke, 55, of East McKeesport. "But we're here to see McCartney, not the arena. It's probably not much different from Mellon Arena."

Then she went inside.

From all accounts, the sold-out Consol Energy Center made a great first impression with the public.

"The arena is awesome," said Sue Klingensmith, 50, of New Eagle. "When I came in, I looked around and said, 'Oh, my Lord above, this place is beautiful. I've never seen a place like this.' I'll be coming back here."

Ms. Klingensmith was enjoying a carton of Chinese noodles and spiced chicken at the Chef's Carvery. Other patrons were sampling assorted grilled sandwiches, tortillas, pizzas and other delights.

Brad Ladik, 38, of Verona and his friend passed on the fancier foods and went with the tried and true: nachos and cold beer.

"That line outside was ridiculous," Mr. Ladik said. "It didn't seem like it was well planned out. But once we got inside, it's wide open and the [concession] lines aren't long at all."

Mr. Ladik wasn't the only one dismayed by the long lines to get in. Frustrated fans stood for close to an hour outside the gates before ticket-takers finally went into action.

The line outside the American Eagle Outfitters Gate forked in two directions, with one leg stretching blocks along Fifth Avenue and the other winding up Washington Place, past the Epiphany Catholic Church, where tired fans rested on the front steps.

There were a few other bugs to be worked out. An escalator inside one gate was not working and the one next to it was spilling people into a bottleneck. Ushers did their best to herd confused concert-goers -- trying to find their sections -- in the right directions.

Seated in Section 114, Don Dulac, 57, of Franklin Park said he and his wife, Ele, came early in hopes of touring the arena. But they didn't really get a chance.

"They didn't do a very good job of ushering people in. The doors were closed too long," he said. "And once you got in, everyone was funneled in to a small number of ticket-takers. It was a mess. But I assume they'll work that out.

"Inside, I'm impressed with the sight lines."

The seats farthest from the stage were in the back of Section 212, Row Q, where Darek Senatore, 46, sat with his 13-year-old daughter, Abbey.

"We were just saying that being as far away as we could be, they're good seats," said Mr. Senatore, of New Castle. "We can see everything, it's wide open. This place is gorgeous. We'll be back here."

"The 'not a bad seat in the house' thing is right," Abbey said.

Miroya Monsour, 51, of Shadyside fell in love with the place as soon as she and her sons arrived at their "more comfortable than the Mellon Arena" seats.

"I love it," she said of the center. "It's open, very good views. Comfortable seat. At the old arena, I felt a little closed in. I can tell there's going to be a good energy here."

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