Penn State officially announced on Wednesday that Pegula Ice Arena will host an NHL preseason game for the first time when the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild play on Monday, Sept. 26.
The game will be played at 7 p.m. as the arena opens its fourth year. A news release from the university said that beginning July 18 Penn State men’s hockey season ticket holders will be able to purchase tickets for the Sabres-Wild matchup.
The announcement comes a day after the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle reported the Sabres had initially intended to play the preseason game at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena, but that Sabres’ leadership felt the 61-year-old arena facilities were inadequate for an NHL contest.
Sabres owner and Penn State alumnus Terry Pegula with his wife Kim donated $102 million to Penn State for construction of the ice arena that now bears their surname, as well as for the establishment of a Division I men’s hockey program in 2010
‘We look forward to being the first team to bring professional hockey to Penn State at Pegula Ice Arena,” Sabres President Russ Brandon said in a statement. “It will be a privilege for our organization to play in the state-of-the-art facility that Terry and Kim Pegula envisioned.”
Tickets for the game will range from $25 to $80 for Nittany Lion men’s hockey season ticket holders, Nittany Lion Club members and students, and the public, if any tickets remain. Tickets will be available by the following schedule and procedures:
• Hockey season ticket holders will have a right of first refusal for their season ticket seat locations from July 28-29.
• The pre-sale for Nittany Lion Club members and men’s hockey season ticket holders for all 2016-17 Penn State individual games will be Aug. 4-8. Season ticket holders who want to purchase additional tickets for the NHL game can do so during the pre-sale. There will be a ticket limit for all games during the NLC pre-sale, with details to be announced.
• Any remaining tickets for all 2016-17 Penn State games and the Buffalo-Minnesota game will go on sale to the general public Aug. 9
• Penn State student tickets for the NHL game will be $25. Details on the student season ticket sale for Penn State men’s hocket and the Sabres-Wild game will be announced later this summer
“We are thrilled to host the first of what we hope will be many NHL preseason games in Pegula Ice Arena,” Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said in a statement. “We are very appreciative of the NHL and the Sabres for their partnership to bring a preseason game to Penn State and further grow the game in central Pennsylvania. I know there will be significant interest by Penn Staters and hockey fans in Hockey Valley and beyond to be a part of the first NHL preseason contest in our magnificent facility.”
In May, the Penn State Board of Trustees approved limited alcohol sales at Penn State athletic venues. For Penn State events that means controlled sales in private and club areas. But at professional sports events hosted at the venues, including Pegula Ice Arena, controlled, general sales can be made in other 21-and-over ticket holders.
The NHL preseason game seems a likely candidate for the first general alcohol sales at Pegula.
Barbour said in May that without the ability to sell alcohol at athletic venues, professional teams and some major concerts were unlikely to make a stop at Penn State. Those events also can provide significant revenue, she said.
“With outside events it’s a significant seven figures per year,” Barbour said. “We won’t get these kinds of events without ability to sell alcohol.”
