One thing is for sure that it will be easier to get around the Consol Energy Center than the old Igloo. The Concourses are huge and there are none of the annoying vendor carts impeding progress! Take a look:

Consol Energy Center Concourse Area

I forget exactly where this was but I think it was the First Niagra Club:

In Arena Restaurant area

One thing that really disappointed me (aside from the lack of leg room in the seats) is the Highmark Kid’s Zone.  This area is down right small and cramped and if there are any number of people in it at any time you can see how crammed it gets.  And there isn’t even that much in there.  Plus, the way it is arranged you almost cannot help but walk in front of people trying to take pictures of their kids putting their heads on dummies wearing Penguins uniforms.  One is on one side of the narrow area and the other is on the opposite wall meaning either you have to do a lot of weaving through these two popular items or walk in front of people trying to take pictures.

The Highmark Kid's Zone

Please, and I hope the Penguins will listen, fix the layout of this area!

The gift shops are no longer kiosks taking up space but have their own little cubbies!  Problem seems to be they have crammed too much stuff into these areas if you ask me:

A Consol Energy Center Gift Shop

Now if you are wondering what food and drinks are going to cost well I have a picture of what they were charging at the open house:

The Snack bar menu at the Consol Energy Center

Some things (like the chicken fingers basket) went up while other things (like Nachos) are so far the same price and yet others (like beer) seemed to go down a hair.  I remember at the old arena beers were $8.  They had them listed here as $7.75.  I don’t know if they are the same size or not because I did not buy one. Oh, and FYI the Nacho at the open house were stale as stale can be. That was just not very classy if you ask me as it seemed like the Penguins were trying to rid themselves of last year’s inventory rather than providing quality snacks.

Up next, part IV … and yes this one will include lower bowl pics I promise!

Now for some pics of the ice. Here is the view from the upper concourse.

Center Ice from second level of Consol Energy Center

As for the second concourse, people with these tickets are definitely further back than at the old arena respectively.  Our seats are a good two to four rows back further which is, I suspect, a result of the placement of the boxes between the first and second levels and the decision to not overhang the second level completely over these boxes.

We are in section 201, Row H seats 3 & 4:

Section 201 Row H

Here is the view of the ice from our seats which are tucked closer to the red line where as at the Igloo we were closer to the blue line:

View from Sect 201, Row H, Seats 3 & 4

Here is my son Magnus (age 10 months) testing out a seat:

Magus checks out a Consol Energy Center Seat

Here is my daughter Charlotte (age 3 years) chilling in another:

Charlotte relaxing in one of the Consol Energy Center's seats

A couple comments on the seats if I might.  First, THANK YOU for the wider seats!  This is a definite improvement that I could feel immediately upon sitting down.  Secondly, but really, couldn’t you give us a little more leg room to the row in front of us?  At the old Igloo I could put my feet flat on the floor and not have my toes hit the back of the seat in front of me.  But at the Consol Energy Center with my feet flat on the ground my toes are right up against the seat in front of me.  In fact I have to pull my feet back just to fit.  This means it will be harder for people to get in and out of the row if you ask me.

Also, really?  No cup holders?  Haven’t we all had enough bad experiences with spilled drinks on the ground due to tight quarters at the Igloo to understand how important these are?  The Penguins dropped the ball on this one.  Sorry.

Up next, Part III including views from the lower bowl …