One-on-one: Acklin talks upgrades coming to PPG Paints Arena

It was just about two months ago that new Penguins owners Fenway Sports Group selected a new management group for PPG Paints Arena.

The agreement with the existing management group, ASM Global, expired this summer. The Penguins and Fenway Sports Group selected OVG360 of Oak View Group, to manage, book, and operate PPG Paints Arena

OVG360 currently manages UBS Arena (arena of the Islanders) and Climate Pledge Arena (arena of the Kraken), as well as the new arena at Arizona State University (where the Coyotes will also play), and the practice facility of the Blues. The group already managed a facility in Pittsburgh, the UPMC Events Center at Robert Morris University.

As part of the agreement, the existing local management team and workers at PPG Paints Arena will be retained, and OVG will retain the existing union relationships.

But looking at the bigger picture, will anything change under Fenway Sports Group and OVG360 that fans will actually notice when it comes to the game-day experience at PPG Paints Arena?

"Absolutely, yes," Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin told me in a phone interview.

"(Oak View Group) is a dynamic, cutting edge, very creative group who is focused exclusively on the fan experience," Acklin said. "So they look at our arena, PPG Paints Arena, it's now 12 years old. It's one of the best arenas in sports, but there's a ton of opportunity for us to create some new investment."

Acklin said that Oak View Group is already "hard at work making improvements" to the arena. Some of the changes being implemented will happen as soon as this offseason, and others may take a little while longer.

Acklin told me that something they're looking at is more premium spaces. That could include new clubs, or potentially a new "bunker suite" like Suite 66, that small premium section located just to the left of the Penguins' bench.

The Penguins and Oak View Group are also looking to upgrade some of the technology in the arena to improve the fans' game-day experience.

Acklin said that they're looking into adding new LED lights to the arena, as well as adding a "cutting-edge videoboard" to replace the one that currently hangs.

The coolest change in the works is the ability to do full on-ice projections. 

Right now the arena has the ability to project small pictures and words onto the ice, like in this part of the pregame playoff introduction from this season:

What the Penguins are looking to add is the ability to project video and effects like the ones in the Golden Knights' T-Mobile Arena:

Other buildings around the league that are far older than PPG Paints Arena like the Flyers' Wells Fargo Center (1996), Capitals' Capital One Arena (1997), and Lightning's Amalie Arena (1996) have made similar upgrades to their buildings and have the on-ice projection technology. Acklin pointed to the Lightning as a team that uses the technology particularly well in their building. The Lightning opened their building to fans for road Stanley Cup Final games this season and showed the game on the videoboard, but they also used tracking technology to project a simulation onto the ice as well:

The Lightning also use the on-ice projections to enhance the game-day experience beyond just intro videos, like showing shot maps on the ice during intermissions:

Acklin said that it's not yet clear how many of the technological upgrades will be ready for the start of the season in October, saying that it's still an "active discussion." He said that the Penguins "love" that the season schedule only includes three home games in the month of October, because it'll allow the Penguins more time to implement some of those improvements early in the season.

"For the Pittsburghers, it's almost like putting new rides in at Kennywood," Acklin said. "You'll see some new stuff in the arena that enhances the fan experience and keeps people coming back and cheering for the team."