Location: PPG Paints Arena

Featured guests: Tommy Regan, director of operations, technology for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Aaron Mimran, regional vice president of Comcast Business

3 things that surprised me:

1. Looking down from the rafters at PPG Paints Arena is overwhelming. Tommy estimated we were about eight stories above the ice. There are seemingly dozens of walkways criss-crossing around the space that are lined with various equipment: lights, communications boxes and so, so many wires. Tommy showed off an area full of ropes and rigging equipment where folks working for concert tours can rappel down to hang up screens or props.

2. Last year, Comcast Business teamed with the Penguins to build a better WiFi network inside the arena. That involved many feet of cords and 400 little antennas placed all across the steel and glass structure. Tommy and Aaron tested the system by having folks sit in different seats throughout every section to ensure that they got a strong wireless signal.

3. I always imagined that the Jumbotron was a solid (or mostly solid) box, but looking down from above, it’s actually hollow and bottomless. The four-sided structure hangs down from the rafters but can move up and down to accommodate different sporting events or musical performances. It can also be lowered all the way down to the ground so that workers can climb up into it for repairs.

One thing that didn’t make the final cut: Comcast Business also installed a new fiber link between PPG Paints Arena and the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ practice facility, for seamless communication between the sites. I asked if they also built a tunnel to easily skate between the two locations. That wasn’t part of this project, though.

Additional info: PPG Paints Arena offers backstage tours which you can learn more about here.

Want more Yinzer Backstage Pass? Check out our visit to the Allegheny County Jail and see how incarcerated residents are helping rescued pups get adopted.

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