Fans wanting to continue a Penguins playoff tradition will have to wait at least a year, as the team announced Monday it would not roll out a big-screen TV as it had in the past because of construction on the former Civic Arena site.
“It became a staple,” Penguins vice president of communications Tom McMillan said. “We enjoyed having that. You see that a lot around the league. We don't know if we were the first, but I think we were among the ones that got the early notoriety. It became part of that.
“We hope to get right back into it next year.”
Though the big screen is gone, there will be plenty to keep fans busy.
• There won't be a whiteout or a blackout. Instead, McMillan said the Penguins will be giving away 9,000 black towels and 9,000 Vegas gold towels for home games. Towels will be given out to ticketholders at random.
• The outdoor viewing parties will be replaced by a 100-ticket giveaway — 50 pairs — that puts fans together in section 120 with Mikey and Big Bob from KISS 96.1 FM. Fans can enter at pittsburghpenguins.com/fanzone.
• There will be the traditional decals put on Consol Energy Center, playoff yard signs and official playoff T-shirts, as well as a large American flag that will appear in the First Niagara Club seats during the national anthem.
• More social media promotions are coming, McMillan said, but for now fans can film and tweet their own “My Playoff Moment” video using the hashtag #WitnessGreatness. Mayor Bill Peduto already has done so. His was Game 1 of the 1991-92 Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The absence of the big screen may generate the most buzz, but McMillan hopes it's only a one-year thing.
“We're not going to be able to do the big screen because of the construction,” McMillan said. “For future years, as things go on, we hope to look to find a place. But this year, with (construction) starting in April, we're just not able to do it.”
The Penguins open their series with the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. The first home game is next Monday, April 20.
Jason Mackey is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at [email protected] or via Twitter @Mackey_Trib.
I've never been down to the big screen, but always thought it would be fun.
Also, I love the whiteout, but having two different colored towels waving will look cool. I'm just excited for Thursday.
