The first hockey sellout at the Civic Arnea was on February 3, 1968 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Pittsburgh Hornets emerged from five years of inactivity when they played their first game at the arena, a 2-1 loss to the Buffalo Bisons, on October 14, 1961, in front of 9,317 fans.
The Hornets never enjoyed a sellout at the arena, but came close on March 7, 1964 when 10,267 saw the Hornets defeat the Cleveland Barons, 4-1.
The Penguins played their first game at the Civic Arena when they lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1, on October 11, 1967. The arena's capacity was 12,580 and the most expensive seat was $5.
17,132 fans attended the Mellon Arena and watched the Penguins defeat the Boston Bruins, 6-4, during the 100th consecutive sellout.
The arena was sold out for the last 166 Penguins games including the last hockey game played at the Mellon Arena on May 12, 2010 when the Pens lost to the Canadiens, 5-2, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The arena's season-by-season attendance are listed below.
The Penguins sold out 52 regular season and playoff games in 2007-08 - an arena and franchise record. The last time the Mellon Arena was not sold out? On February 6, 2007, 16,333 fans saw the Penguins defeat the Nashville Predators, 4-1.
We knew the arena seating could easily be expanded to 12,500 seats.
JACK McGREGOR
Penguins president in 1966, on adding nearly 2,000 seats to the Civic Arena to meet an NHL demand for expansion teams.
FAST FACTS
• 5,169 people attended the Hornets last game at the Civic Arena.
• The first hockey sellout at the Civic Arena was on February 3, 1968 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• Before the start of the 1974-75 season the ice surface at the Civic Arena was reduced from 205 feet to 200 feet.
• The construction of E-Level balconies in 1975 increased the capacity of the venue by 3,000 seats.
• The 1983-84 season was the last year the arena was not sold out for a hockey game.
• 1993 renovation projects, including the addition of the F-level balconies, new luxury skyboxes and several privately catered club seats, added 1,000 new seats.
•The 2007-08 was the first season in the arena's history that the entire season was a sellout.
• The arena was sold out for the last 166 Penguins games.
For more on Civic/Mellon Arena history:
• In addition to the Penguins, 12 professional sports teams have called the Civic/Mellon Arena home:
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar sold more than 2 million copies in 12 months and became 1971's number-one-selling album.
In July of that year, 13,000 Superstar fans packed the Civic Arena to see the opera performed in concert. That performance was just the runner-up to a full-blown Broadway production that opened on Broadway on October 12, 1971.
• Elvis Presley performed there on June 25, 1973 and later on December 31, 1976.
• The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh was filmed at the arena in 1979.
• The arena was featured in the 1995 film, Sudden Death, starring Jean Claude Van Damme.
