- Owner
- Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority
- Architects
- Populous, Kansas City / Astorino Pittsburgh
- PPG Paints™ Products:
- PPG Paints SPEEDHIDE® Interior Paint PPG Paints PITT-GLAZE® Interior Paint PITT-TECH® Exterior Paint PITT-GUARD® DTR Coating
- Painting Contractor
- Patrinos Painting, Pittsburgh
PPG Paints Speedhide professional-quality latex paint, long regarded by painting contractors as one of the industry’s highest-performing interior coatings, was specified by Astorino, a Pittsburgh-based interior design firm, in various sheens and in an extensive palette of colors for the arena’s drywall surfaces, including flat tones for the ceilings and glossier eggshell finishes for the walls.
Beautifying and Protecting
These products are complemented throughout the building’s bright, open interior by Pitt-Tech high-performance acrylic paints, which were selected for metal doors and frames, and Pitt-Glaze water-based epoxy coatings, which were chosen to brighten the concrete masonry units in the bathrooms, kitchens, utility closets and other areas requiring protection from mildew stains.
Far above the ice, the steel beams that gird the arena’s ceiling are finished with Pitt-Guard paint. A two-component direct-to-rust (DTR) epoxy, this heavy-duty coating was applied on-site to create a robust corrosion-resistant barrier for the tons of fabricated steel that make up the building’s structural skeleton.
Changing Colors
When they first planned and designed CONSOL Energy Center, Astorino and Kansas City-based architect Populous worked closely with representatives of the PPG Paints brand to review hundreds of color samples, and ultimately, to specify the dozens of colors that enliven the common areas of the building, as well as its home and visiting locker rooms, corporate luxury suites, retail stores and restaurants, and work and services areas.
The palette of colors has continued to expand over the years, most notably when the name of the venue changed from CONSOL Energy Center to PPG Paints Arena in 2016, and, even more frequently, as corporate suites have changed hands and restaurants, retailers and other vendors have moved in and out of its concourses.
Sustained Success
When it was originally constructed, PPG Paints Arena earned 42 LEED points, an extraordinary achievement for a 700,000 square-foot building with so much open space and energy-intensive technology. Speedhide, Pitt-Tech and Pitt-Glaze paints all played a critical role in contributing to this accomplishment, due primarily to their low-VOC formulations.
The low-VOC, low-odor characteristics of these products also helped the building contractor meet its aggressive construction schedule, enabling electricians, plumbers, tile setters, carpenters, pipe fitters and other tradespeople to work without interruption during the building’s nine-month paint schedule.
PPG Paints products and service personnel continue to play a key role in sustaining what has become their namesake arena. As a world-class sports and entertainment center that hosts athletic events, concerts, conferences and family events year round, PPG Paints Arena requires almost daily maintenance due its heavy traffic.
Penguins’ ownership, management, as well as the local sports authority also remain committed to their original mission – which is not only to continue bringing Stanley Cup® championships to the city of Pittsburgh, but also to making city’s hockey home one of the most attractive and sustainable buildings in professional sports.