The Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

University Park, Pennsylvania Penn State University Park, also referred to as University Park, is the main campus of Pennsylvania State University, located in both State College and College Township, both in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post off ...

on the campus of

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. The facility is located on the corner of Curtin Road and University Drive near the

Bryce Jordan Center The Bryce Jordan Center is a 15,261-seat multi-purpose arena in College Township, Pennsylvania, on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The arena opened on January 6, 1996, and is the largest such indoor venue in ...

. The arena is named after Kim and

Terry Pegula Terrence Michael Pegula (born March 27, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman and petroleum engineer. He is the owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) and, with a consortium of private equity firms and athletes, th ...

for their donations to fund the arena and it replaced the 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Pavilion. The arena contains two ice surfaces. One, the Varsity Rink, is used for Penn State Hockey games and other main events. It has a capacity of 6,014. The other, the Community Rink, has a capacity of 300 and functions as a public ice rink for the community.

History

On September 17, 2010 it was officially announced that the Penn State men's and women's ice hockey programs would move to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I level for the 2012-13 season. The teams competed in the existing 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Pavilion until the new arena was completed in the fall of 2013. On November 5, 2010 the Penn State Board of Trustees appointed Crawford Architects and

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is a United States–based architectural practice that was founded as Bohlin & Powell in 1965 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania by Peter Bohlin and Richard Powell. Briefly known as Bohlin Powell Brown, with offices in Wilkes- ...

as the architects for the new arena. Crawford Architects has worked on projects in the US and internationally and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed the Biobehavioral Health Building, currently under construction on the PSU campus. It was announced on January 21, 2011 that the arena would be named in honor of Kim and

whose $88 million donation helped fund the arena and the creation of men's and women's varsity

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

programs. On February 15, 2011, it was announced that the main lobby of the arena would be named after the Silvis family, following a $1 million donation by Paul and Nancy Silvis. The arena opened on October 11, 2013 when the PSU men’s ice hockey team hosted

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. Pegula Ice Arena is capable of hosting other on-ice events, including ice shows and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

exhibition games. The first NHL exhibition game at the arena, featuring Pegula's

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

hosting the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

, took place in September 2016, seeing the Minnesota Wild score the game-winning goal with less than 5 seconds in regulation for a 2-1 win. The Sabres would return to the arena for a preseason game in 2017. The main ice arena features a main competition ice arena with seating for about 6,000 spectators. The facility also includes a practice rink, offices, locker rooms and player areas. The facility was entirely privately funded as part of the $88 million gift, the largest in the university's history, to advance the men's and women's ice hockey programs to the NCAA Division I level and provide a suitable facility for that move. On January 25, 2025, the Arena reached its record capacity of 6,604 during Penn State’s 3-2 overtime win against Ohio State.

References

External links

Penn State Official Athletic Site - Pegula Ice Arena
{{Atlantic Hockey America Penn State Nittany Lions ice hockey College ice hockey venues in Pennsylvania 2013 establishments in Pennsylvania Sports venues completed in 2013 Penn State Nittany Lions sports venues

History

See also

References

External links