Consoled by Consol

On Saturday, DB~ and I went with our friends (and their 18 month old) to tour the new Consol Energy Center, the soon-to-be home to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

I'm not really sure how to say this properly, so....it was kind of bland. I found the color scheme to be very laid back and soothing in the concourses, with a lot of pale yellows and beiges. I loved the fact that you can walk around the entire circumference of the concourse and be able to see the ice at all times (especially in the top section).

But there were a lot of things that I wasn't sure about. Can anyone explain the pattern of the gold-backed seats to me? At first I thought it might be a Fibonacci sequence of every 1, 2, then 3, then 5 rows, but that didn't work out. DB~ thought it may have something to do with handicapped access or special seating, but uh-uh.

I found it somewhat interesting that the Consol is saturated with pictures of Sidney Crosby, but very, very few of Geno Malkin. I found his absence very telling as to who will be here long-term.

And the Kids Zone? It was full of hard surfaces and sterile colors. And as our friends pointed out...good idea to give a bunch of rowdy kids access to hockey sticks. It had Wii Sports set up. Good to see we can get the kids out of the house for a night so they can be addicted to gaming consoles somewhere different. /end cranky mid-30's man rant/

The California University Conference Center was very bland and utilitarian. Who needs to come downtown to get a lights-on Powerpoint projector and a conference table? Do people not have these? And not have to fight traffic and pay for parking?

In the Lexus Club, you can survey the city out of the wall of glass windows and stare at the sad remains of the Mellon Arena. Sort of like looking at your wife's grave as you blow through the cemetery in a convertible with your new blond trophy wife. The luxury suites, at least the ones open to the public or visible from the First Niagara Zone/Captain Morgan Lounge were nothing special. Certainly not as nice as the ones at PNC Park, which I had the pleasure of being in twice through no merit of my own.

Overall it will be a fun place to watch Sidney Crosby and the boys bring home another Stanley Cup, but just don't go expecting the Taj Mahal.