PITTSBURGH, PA (CelebrityAccess) – Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and the Pittsburgh Penguins have selected Oak View Group 360 (OVG360) to handle the management of PPG Paints Arena starting this July. The current management group’s (ASM Global) contract ends June 30th. The Penguins and FSG held a request for proposal (RFP) process and landed with OVG. The deal will last 15 years, but no financial details were disclosed.
The Penguins’ lease to use the arena runs until 2040. OVG acquired Spectra in the fall of 2021 to round out its venue management offering, but Aramark will remain PPG Paints Arena’s concession vendor. OVG has considerable hockey experience throughout its ranks, including owning two National Hockey League (NHL) buildings – Climate Pledge Arena and UBS Arena. Additionally, OVG Senior VP Hank Abate helped open PPG Paints Arena in 2010. One immediate area of focus for OVG in Pittsburgh is improving concert booking, which FSG hopes to do through close Live Nation (LN) connections.
“We feel that Pittsburgh is sometimes missing out on shows that should be here,” said Penguins COO Kevin Acklin. “The non-hockey side of what we do here in Pittsburgh is where we see some opportunities.”
