Seating capacity increases by 300 for home games
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The addition of 300 seats will not change the appearance of the interior of Consol Energy Center.
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The Penguins have added 300 seats to Consol Energy Center, bringing the capacity for hockey games to 18,387 for the team's second season at the arena.
The new capacity retains the original tie-in to the No. 87 worn by Penguins captain and star center Sidney Crosby.
Team vice president Tom McMillan said Tuesday that the additional seats aren't in one or two blocks but are scattered throughout the building.
The Penguins monitored the space in the opening season and found areas where small numbers of seats could be added comfortably.
McMillan said the additional seats will not change the appearance of the interior of the arena.
Penguins CEO and president David Morehouse said in a statement that the club has had a 99 percent season-ticket renewal rate.
The Penguins have a season-ticket waiting list and have sold out 210 home games in a row.
The team has again capped the number of seats available for season-ticket plans at the equivalent of 15,000 per game, leaving room for about 2,000 individual-game ticket sales as well as group sales and the popular student rush program.
Single-game tickets will go on sale next month, although prices and the on-sale date have not been released. Details of the student rush program for 2011-12 also are not yet available.
The NHL is not happy that the New York Islanders are sanctioning a viewing party Friday night at a sports bar.
MSG Plus, the Islanders' TV rights holder, will rebroadcast the Feb. 11 brawl-filled, 9-3 Islanders win against the visiting Penguins.
"We do not approve of the use that is being suggested, and we are looking into it," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.
The game produced 346 penalty minutes, a $100,000 fine for the Islanders and three suspensions. Penguins owner and Hall of Fame center Mario Lemieux chastised the NHL in a statement afterward.
Penguins general manager Ray Shero expressed his displeasure over the Islanders' party plan Monday.
Forward Dustin Jeffrey (knee surgery) has been cleared for light skating. ... Russian forward Daniil Tarasov has been invited to join the Penguins' contingent in a preseason rookie tournament next month in Oshawa, Ontario, on an amateur tryout. In his first full season in North America, Tarasov, 20, had 37 goals, 75 points in 57 games for Indiana in the junior USHL. ... Don Granato, brother of Penguins assistant Tony Granato, was named as one of two head coaches of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., and will guide the U.S. national under-17 team this season.
First Published August 17, 2011 12:00 am
