I'm 99% certain that the people who do the most complaining about the noise level in the arena are never actually there to hear it. Most nights it's absolutely fine. Sometimes it's a little quiet. Sometimes it's quite loud. Just like I'd imagine most arenas in the league are.
Let's just go back to all student rush seats. We won't be able to ice a competitive team but it'll sure be loud. Just imagine how many people will be there to yell WOOO all game long!
Agreed. It can be relatively quiet while play is going on, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.. it just means people are watching the game. For the game against the Flyers on Sunday, the place was rocking when the Flyers took a second penalty late to put the pens on a 5-3, and was pretty much loud the rest of the game. So while the fans may need excitement to get them going, they do get loud at the right times.
As for the Air Horn, eh.. it's just another thing the Pens have adopted from other teams like announcing when the team is on the Power Play or playing those chimes every time they're on a PP. Air Horn would've bothered me a few years ago, but now.. eh.. and it's pretty cool at the arena so, no doesn't bother me.
