First PIA Seat Selection Assigned

More than 3,000 season tickets for the inaugural men's hockey season at Pegula Ice Arena will be scooped up between Tuesday, July 16th and Wednesday, July 24th, according to an email communication from Penn State Athletic Ticketing Services assigning selection dates and times to those making the first deposit deadline, May 24th. A second deposit group for stragglers, limited to 450 tickets, will grab remaining seats after the first group has had their choice.

Here's the text of the email:

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Thank you for your interest in supporting Penn State Hockey through your season ticket interest and/or your generous Nittany Lion Club donations. Along with us, you have been anxiously awaiting the opening of our new and state-of-the-art facility; the Pegula Ice Arena.

Renewing and relocating seats in the Pegula Ice Arena will become an annual online event and your selection date and time for the inaugural season is indicated above. All of the selection assignments have been ordered according to the standards determined in advance by Penn State and as published on our website and via direct communication in mid-May. We are also sending a hard copy of this assignment via the US Mail.

We are very pleased to offer the cutting-edge digital technology of the Virtual Venue™ to our hockey fans. You can expect life-like seat views, location information, amenities, and pricing so you can choose with confidence. We also believe that this unique look into our newest venue will help familiarize you with all seating areas.

For our customers who need wheelchair seating, please phone 1-800-NITTANY for assistance with securing appropriate accommodations. Please remember that we will not be able to provide this assistance before your scheduled selection date/time.

We are here to help you with your seat selection questions! There are some details below and a Penn State representative will be happy to assist, if needed! Feel free to phone a representative at 1-800-NITTANY between 8 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday.

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These are the "standards determined in advance" mentioned in the second paragraph - and tons of credit is due the people who came up with them, as those going back with the Icers and renewing for the first NCAA season clearly have an advantage:

1. Current NLC members who were also Penn State 2012-13 hockey season ticket holders
2. Current NLC members with 500 or more priority points
3. Penn State 2012-13 Hockey Season Ticket holders who are not current NLC members
4. Penn State Hockey team alumni
5. Current NLC members with fewer than 500 priority points
6. Non-NLC members, not a previous season ticket holder with a deposit

The selection process will be conducted through a Virtual Venue, essentially a digital representation of the arena and its seats, as mentioned in the email. While the ability to make a purchase has been disabled until July 16th, the rest of its features are online so that users can familiarize themselves with the technology before their d-day and time. If all else fails, purchases after the selection time are allowed by calling 1-800-NITTANY. All seats must be paid in full at the time of selection.

Only the On The Glass ($700), Club Seating ($500/$900), Center Ice ($400), Attack Zone ($300) and End Zone ($240) sections (green, orange, gray, red and blue, respectively, on the seating chart leading the post) are available through this selection. Those seeking opera boxes, loges and suites (pink, lime green and purple) are directed to call 1-800-NITTANY. The 1,000 student tickets (yellow), of course, will go on sale in September and will not require a deposit.

PSU has set up an FAQ page to help people through the process as well.

Other information - specifically single game and partial plan availability, as well as ticketing for the women's team - is still to come.