PPG Paints Arena

Your seat in one line

For a Penguins game at PPG Paints Arena, aim for a lower-bowl seat on one of the long sides, between the two blue lines and about 10 to 20 rows back. At that height the glass drops out of your sightline and both nets stay in view. If that is out of budget, the center-line sections of the 200 level are the arena's value play: the bowl has only two tiers, so the upper level stays relatively close to the ice.

The Pittsburgh Penguins moved into this Fifth Avenue building, just off downtown, in 2010. Hockey capacity is 18,187, basketball roughly 19,000, and a concert can hold anywhere from about 14,500 to nearly 19,800 depending on how the stage is set.

• Hockey season: October into April, plus any playoff dates. Saturday and Sunday games and any Philadelphia Flyers visit are the hardest tickets.
• Concerts and events: all year, and especially in summer, when tours take over the empty rink.

Two tiers and a premium ring

Many arenas stack three tiers. This one uses two, which pulls the top seats closer to the action.

• 100 level: the lower bowl around the ice or floor; independent guides number it 101 to 122.
• Premium ring: suites, loge boxes and clubs (the F.N.B. Club among them) sandwiched between the tiers.
• 200 level: the upper bowl, 201 to 234. Because it wraps a bigger circle, it needs a dozen more section numbers than the bowl below.

Outside guides supply those ranges, and they line up with sections the arena itself references, such as 106, 119, 206 and 234. A separate chart goes up for each event, and the floor plan for concerts is rebuilt every time, so look at the one for your date.

Hockey: blue lines, glass and the upper corners

• Best view: lower bowl, long side, inside the blue lines, rows 10 to 20.
• Front rows: you feel every hit and see how fast the game really is, yet the boards in front of you, plus the benches, hide much of what happens on your side of the ice.
• Upper-tier center ice: the full rink in one view. A seat in the front of the 200s usually shows the flow of play better than one deep in a lower corner.
• Upper corners behind the nets: the weakest hockey seats, since it is tough to gauge distance looking straight down the length of the rink.

Like every NHL team, the Penguins attack one end for two of the three periods, but their published guides do not identify it. Check with the seller before paying extra for that end.

Concert floors and stage sides

With the stage at one end, your strongest options are the floor itself and the long-side lower sections turned toward the performers. Seats tight to the stage's edge can lose part of the picture, and the area behind the stage frequently stays empty. When the stage sits in the middle, the lower long sides become the prime tickets. Beyond hockey and music, the building has staged NCAA men's tournament games, the NHL Draft in 2012 and college hockey's Frozen Four twice, in 2013 and 2021.

Leave the bag at home

Bags are almost entirely off-limits. As of October 2026, the venue's A to Z guide lets in nothing but a wallet or wristlet no bigger than 4 by 6 by 1 inches, along with bags needed for medical supplies or diapers. The team's own ticket FAQ allows a touch more depth (1.5 inches instead of 1). Since the two disagree, pack to the tighter limit.

• Turned away: backpacks, larger bags, coolers and sealed packages, gifts for players or performers included.
• Medical and diaper bags: X-rayed at the door; anything that fails goes back to your car.
• Tickets: on your phone. Paper printouts stopped working in July 2018.
• Payment: no cash at the stands. Kiosks that turn bills into a prepaid card, free of charge, sit in the Highmark Lobby and the F.N.B. Club and by sections 106, 119, 206 and 234.
• Other rules: no re-entry, no smoking and no outside food.

Doors usually open an hour before the event. Use the EQT Gate on Fifth Avenue by Washington Place, or the Highmark Gate (lower level) and F.N.B. Gate (upper level) on the building's back side. Confirm everything in the venue's visitor guide before your date. A 100% guarantee covers every Reserved Seat order.

Getting downtown: free T rides, buses and parking

• The T: the nearest light rail stop is Steel Plaza (Sixth Avenue and Ross Street), with Wood Street and First Avenue close behind. Rides within the Golden Triangle cost nothing, according to the arena, so you can stay or park downtown and hop a train.
• Buses: Pittsburgh Regional Transit's 61 and 71 lines (61A through 61D, plus 71A, 71C and 71D) use Fifth and Forbes, and the 81 and 83 also stop close by.
• Parking: on-site lots take cards only, and the attached garage is open to the public when there is no hockey. Prices change by event, and the arena strongly recommends booking ahead on ParkWhiz.
• Rideshare and taxis: rideshare cars meet riders where Wylie Avenue crosses Fullerton Street; cabs queue by the F.N.B. Gate.

Garages a few blocks west, in the heart of downtown, usually empty faster after the final horn than the lots next door, and the walk over is short and level.

From the Igloo to PPG Paints

Opening night came on August 18, 2010. The new building replaced the Civic Arena, the dome-roofed Igloo that had housed the Penguins since 1967, at a cost near 321 million dollars, and it belongs to the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority. Capacity for hockey started at 18,087, a wink at Sidney Crosby's 87, then rose to 18,387 for 2011 before settling at today's 18,187 in 2023.

No NHL arena had earned LEED Gold, a certification for energy- and water-efficient construction, before this one. The PPG Paints name went up on October 4, 2016, a few months after the first of two straight Penguins championships (2016 and 2017). For the city's ballpark and football stadium, see PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium.

Sources

• Wikipedia – PPG Paints Arena
• PPG Paints Arena – A to Z Guide
• PPG Paints Arena – Directions and Parking
• PPG Paints Arena – Public Transportation
• Pittsburgh Penguins – Ticket FAQ
• Wikipedia – Pittsburgh Penguins
• A View From My Seat – PPG Paints Arena sections