PITTSBURGH — A fan attending a Pittsburgh Penguins game on Monday night suffered “life-threatening injuries” after he fell from the upper deck of PPG Paints Arena, officials said.
It was the third time this year — and the second time in three days — that a person has been hospitalized after falling at one of Pittsburgh’s sporting venues.
Allegheny County dispatchers said crews were called to the arena at 7:15 p.m. ET after the fan fell from Section 234, according to WPXI.
The man was attempting to step down from one row but tripped and fell, the television station reported. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said he fell onto another person who was sitting in the suite below before continuing to fall into the 100 level.
The fan landed in Section 101, approximately 25 rows behind the Penguins’ bench. He appeared to be unconscious and was taken to an area hospital with “life-threatening issues.”
The incident occurred early in the first period after Anthony Mantha’s goal gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead.
The person who was hit during the fall was evaluated by medical personnel at the arena but declined to be taken to a hospital.
“Although there is no further information at this time, the Penguins and OVG Management Group are closely monitoring the situation,” the Penguins said in a statement. “Our concerns remain with the individual and his family at this time.”
On Saturday night, in the hours before the Steelers played the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium, a worker fell 50 feet off the scoreboard onto a mid-level catwalk. Rescue medics were able to reach him and lower him to safety. He was transported to an area hospital and is in critical condition, according to a post from Pittsburgh Public Safety on X.
On April 30, 20-year-old Kavan Markwood fell more than 20 feet from the right-field seats at PNC Park and onto the warning track. Markwood, injured his skull, spine, ribs and lungs and was hospitalized.
On Monday night, Pittsburgh defeated the St. Louis Blues 6-3.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who became the ninth player in NHL history to score 1,700 points, said he and his teammates heard about the fan’s fall after the game.
“It doesn’t feel right to be talking about points when you hear something like that,” Crosby told reporters. “Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with that person and their family and hopefully they’re OK.”
“Right after the game, we were informed that a fan fell,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said at the beginning of his postgame news conference. “Just want to start off by saying thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. They all came here for a sport, a game, and to hear something like that, that kind of puts everything else aside.”