"It's exciting to be the first to be able to say welcome to the PPG Paints Arena," Penguins president and CEO David Morehouse said. "We're very excited to announce this partnership today with PPG.
"PPG is a part of Pittsburgh's history. It's ingrained in the fabric of Pittsburgh. With this arena it will allow them to protect and beautify the world."
PPG, which is also the official paint supplier of the Penguins, signed a 20-year agreement with the team for the naming rights to the multipurpose arena, which was the key structure in keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh in perpetuity.
"We're very proud of this day," PPG vice president of corporate and government affairs Bryan Iams said. "It's always a great day for hockey, and it's a great day for PPG."
Various companies approach the Penguins with an interest in the building naming rights, in case an opportunity were ever to present itself. But PPG took things to the next level. After PPG made a strong offer, the team approached CONSOL, whose business priorities were changing.
"Between the three of us we were able to put this deal together," Morehouse said. "It's truly a great collaborative effort between our staff, PPG staff and CONSOL staff to pull this together."
PPG Paints will not only have its name across the building's spine, but it will appear all throughout - fan entrances, roof, signage, center ice, dasher boards, etc. PPG will also have a presence in the team's UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
PPG had already worked with the Penguins upon the construction of the arena, providing the paint throughout the building.
"We've helped the Pittsburgh Penguins protect and beautify this building since the arena opened in 2010," PPG executive vice president Viktor Sekmakas said. "We consulted the Penguins as they chose paint colors used throughout the arena when it was being designed. Our coatings and products protect the building's structural steel from rust and ultraviolet exposure."
PPG Paints Arena was the first NHL building to earn an LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, thanks in part to PPG.
PPG, which has been in operation for more than 130 years, is headquartered in Pittsburgh with reach to over 70 countries around the world.
"It's a company that we want to be partners with," Morehouse said. "It's a long-time Pittsburgh company from the 1880s. We're happy to partner with an iconic brand like PPG."
While CONSOL Energy will no longer own the naming rights to the arena, the company and team still have a strong partnership for the next 14 years.
"We knew from our close relationship with CONSOL that their business priorities were changing," Morehouse said. "We talked to them about transitioning some of the things we were doing for them to be more community and employee-engagement oriented.
"We want to thank CONSOL Energy, who's been a great partner of ours. CONSOL has been with us for about eight years, for the last six as the naming right's partner of this building. They helped us build this building. Without a relationship with CONSOL it would have been difficult to have the revenues we needed to generate in order to have this new arena built."
