According to the folks at WalletHub, Pittsburgh is the third-best city for hockey fans in the United States.
The survey used 21 indicators, including performance, ticket prices, arena sizes and fan engagement at both the NHL and NCAA Division I level.
That meant that the Pittsburgh Penguins, coming of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, were the second-ranked NHL squad, behind only the Detroit Red Wings, and the Robert Morris Colonials came in at No. 26 amongst collegiate squads.
Pittsburgh finished third overall behind top dog Boston, whose several college hockey teams combined to finish first in that category, and Detroit. New York, Chicago, Newark, St. Louis, Buffalo, Anaheim and Washington, D.C. rounded out the Top Ten.
Pittsburgh ranked first in NHL fan engagement, third in performance of NHL team, fifth in Stanley Cup wins, sixth in NHL attendance and seventh in NHL stadium capacity, NHL franchise team value and NCAA minimum ticket price.
The Penguins have sold out 531 straight games and Pittsburgh has been one of the top markets for NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs, even since the Penguins have been eliminated. Robert Morris has made the Atlantic Hockey Conference’s Final Four in five consecutive seasons.
Western Pennsylvania has twice won the Kraft Hockeyville USA sweepstakes, with Johnstown’s Cambria County War Memorial Arena winning in 2015 and Rostraver’s Ice Garden winning in 2017.
