[14] In an attempt not to use public funding, the Penguins filed for a slots license under the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The arena's funding plan was agreed upon by Lemieux, Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell on March 13, 2007, after much negotiation.

[25][26] In September 2009, the State contributed an additional $5.08 million from the "Pennsylvania Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund" to cover a rising "interest on variable rate bonds".

[29] On April 8, 2008, Populous presented design renderings to the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission, receiving negative feedback.

[35] Ken Sawyer, Penguins' chief executive officer, asked that the interior be modeled after that of the venue then known as Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

[37] Mario Lemieux along with officials from the state and local governments ceremonially broke ground on a new hockey arena on August 14, 2008.

[38] Shovels, with shafts made from team captain Sidney Crosby's used hockey sticks, were used for the ground-breaking ceremony.

[42] The arena was originally named for Consol Energy, the largest producer of bituminous coal in the United States,[43] which signed a 21-year agreement with the Penguins in December 2008.

[12][13] PPG Paints Arena is one of the only major sports venues whose soft drink contract is not with The Coca-Cola Company or PepsiCo.

Instead, Dr Pepper Snapple Group holds a contract, and serves its own products such as RC Cola, Diet Rite, Cherikee Red, and Sunkist Orange Soda, in addition to its more popular brands such as Dr Pepper, 7 Up, and A&W Root Beer that are typically sold alongside Coca-Cola or Pepsi products in other venues.

In this time, Coca-Cola retained pouring rights in fountains (seemingly due to the cost of a large scale changeover) and Dr Pepper/7 Up products were exclusively sold in bottles.

The two skated for about five minutes before being joined on the ice by a group of young hockey fans all wearing Lemieux's #66 or Crosby's #87 jerseys.

[50] The Penguins opened the arena with a pre-season game on September 22, 2010, with a 5–1 win over the rival Detroit Red Wings.

Team President David Morehouse said, "Our feeling is that more fans will want the chance to see and experience Consol Energy Center, so we thought it made sense to add the third preseason home game.

The stars of the game were awarded to Kennedy, Claude Giroux and Flyers rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 29 of 31 saves in his NHL debut.

[53] The Penguins earned their first win at the arena on October 15, 2010, against the New York Islanders, prevailing on an overtime power-play goal by defenseman Alex Goligoski.

The Penguins along with Robert Morris University hosted the first NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey championship held in the state of Pennsylvania; the event also marked the first time that an NCAA championship game in a major team sport had been held in the city of Pittsburgh.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen to host the 2013 Frozen Four at the (Consol Energy Center)," RMU head men's ice hockey coach Derek Schooley said.

"[59] In December 2012, the arena began hosting the Three Rivers Classic, a two-day Division I college ice hockey tournament.

[60] The first collegiate event at PPG Paints Arena was the fifth-annual College Hockey Showcase on October 17, 2010, hosted by Robert Morris.

[65] The arena hosted the 2010 SEC/Big East Invitational, featuring Auburn playing Rutgers and Pittsburgh taking on Tennessee in Pitt's second appearance at PPG Paints.

[66] Duquesne hosted three home games in the 2010–11 season: on December 12 against West Virginia, against Dayton on January 30, 2011, and against Xavier on February 13, 2011.

[67] During the 2012–2013 NHL lockout, Duquesne again hosted three home games – December 12 vs. West Virginia, January 19 vs. VCU, and February 9 vs. Xavier.

[71] On August 19, 2010, news sources reported that PPG Paints Arena would be home to the Pittsburgh Power, which began play in the spring of 2011.

The team's ownership group includes former Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Lynn Swann.

[75] The arena has hosted various WWE pay-per-views and premium live events, including Royal Rumble in 2014, Roadblock: End of the Line in 2016, Extreme Rules in 2018 and Payback in 2023.

[citation needed] Justified, an FX television drama that debuted in March 2010, used the center's final construction phase as a filming location to depict the "new Federal Courthouse" on the show.