Things to Do Between Hockey Games in Pittsburgh

About 3 minutes from Alpha Ice Complex · 33 lanes · laser tag for up to 30 a game · 88+ arcade games · Suite 28 for up to 200

Between games: for the players, and their brothers and sisters

Most of it needs no booking. Open bowling runs the whole time we're open, the arcade is walk-in, and laser tag is first come, first served: put your name down at the laser desk when you arrive. There are no leagues on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so tournament weekends are open bowling. All of it is indoors, under one roof.

• Bowling. 33 lanes, up to six bowlers a lane, shoes included. Cosmic bowling, with black lights, lasers, music and 12-foot video screens, runs all day, Wednesday to Sunday. Bumpers, lightweight balls and ramps let the youngest brothers and sisters bowl on the same lane as the team.
• Laser tag. Area 28 is a 3,000 sq ft arena on one level, lit by black light. Up to 30 players fit in one game, so the whole team can play together, as two teams or every player for themselves. A game runs about 15 minutes. Players against parents works too.
• The arcade. The Game Zone has 88+ games, including two virtual reality games, with pool tables at the edge of the room. Load a game card with any amount; tickets go back onto the card and cash in at the redemption counter for candy, toys and electronics.
• Escape rooms. Two rooms, 3 to 10 players each, one hour. Hidden Below, an abandoned mine, is the one to pick for younger players. Room 113 has fake blood and fake body parts and may not suit younger audiences. The Escape Zone runs Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 8pm. Reserve at least three days ahead, because walk-ins depend on a room being free. If anyone in your group is 12 or under, eight tickets must be bought for the room.

A tournament Saturday, for example

1. Morning game, then lunch at the Rail House, which opens at 11am.
2. The afternoon gap: a game of laser tag, the arcade, an hour on the lanes, or an escape room you booked ahead.
3. Evening game, then cosmic bowling until we close at midnight. Book the team dinner around your game times.

After 8pm on Friday and Saturday, anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian aged 25 or over with them.

Team dinner or team party

Hockey teams are one of the groups we host often. A team dinner or party is for 15 guests or more, counting the players and the coaches and parents who join in. We build one flat per-person package around your headcount, the activities you want and the food, so the team parent can collect one simple amount per family.

• Play. Bowling, laser tag and arcade game cards, in the mix you choose.
• Food from our own kitchen. Pizza for a team party, or one of our buffets in Suite 28, such as the pizza buffet: unlimited gourmet pizza, breadsticks and salad, with soft drinks. We time the food to the end of play. Because it all comes from our own kitchen, tell your event coordinator about allergies when you book.
• A room of your own. Five party rooms each seat 30 and have a 55-inch TV that takes your own laptop, for the game video or the team photos. Suite 28 holds up to 200, with eight private lanes, its own bar, its own entrance, an LED wall and audio-visual systems. The Half Suite takes 20 to 40 guests and the Full Suite 40 to 200; from Thanksgiving to Martin Luther King Jr. Day the minimums are 30 and 60. A retractable wall splits the suite, so two teams can each have a side.
• Several teams at once. The whole building takes groups of up to 600. See large group events.

Who does what. A dedicated event coordinator plans it with you: the headcount, the activities, the menu, and the timing around your game schedule. On the night, our events team runs it, from the lanes and the laser tag to the food, so the coaches and the team parent get the night off.

Won the tournament? A championship night for the whole team books the same way. Planning the end-of-season party back home? See youth sports team parties.

For the parents: Eat / Drink / Bowl

• The End Zone Sports Bar. Over 100 beers, with 20 on tap, premium spirits, and 14 big-screen TVs to catch a game. The bar menu runs to wings, burgers and loaded nachos. Open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 11am to 10pm, and Friday and Saturday 11am to midnight. You must be 21 with valid ID to drink. ( End Zone Sports Bar)
• The Rail House Restaurant. Full-service, from 11am Wednesday to Sunday: freshly baked pizza and sandwiches, the Applewood Bacon Burger and Loaded Zone Fries. The kitchen is a few steps from the lanes. ( Rail House Restaurant)
• Dinner back at the hotel. Order online for pickup, from pizza and wings to burgers and salads, and take it back to the room.
• Play with them. Laser tag is one of the few games where a child and an adult are on genuinely even terms, and Suite 28 has its own private bar for a booked team night.
• The age rule. After 8pm on Friday and Saturday, guests must be 18 with valid ID unless they are with a parent or guardian aged 25 or over. ( House policies)

Getting here from the rinks

Zone 28 is at 2525 Freeport Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15238, right off Route 28, 2 minutes from the PA Turnpike and 15 minutes from downtown. Turnpike Exit 48 lets out onto Freeport Road. Parking is free.

Where teams stay. The hotels on Freeport Road and Landings Drive, by Turnpike Exit 48, are within half a mile of Alpha Ice Complex and about 3 minutes from us. From the hotels along William Penn Highway, Mosside Boulevard and Monroeville Boulevard in Monroeville, we're about 20 minutes.

Coming by team bus? Buses drop off at the main entrance on Freeport Road. Call 412-828-1100 and ask for group sales before you come, so we can plan for the bus.

Drive times are approximate, without traffic.

Groups and booking

• Families: just come in. No booking for bowling, the arcade or laser tag. For an escape room, reserve at least three days ahead.
• Teams: groups of 10 or more can reserve lanes, and team packages with food start at 15 guests.
• Book as soon as your game schedule is out. Group packages need at least three days' notice, weekend evenings are the first to fill, and December dates go early.
• Bringing the team for laser tag without a package? Call 412-828-1100 and ask for group sales before you come, so we can have the arena ready. A private game isn't guaranteed.
• Mondays and Tuesdays we're closed, but we open for groups of 75 or more, so several teams together can ask about the Monday of a holiday weekend.
• What to send us: your team and age group, your headcount, your dates and the gaps in your game schedule. We'll come back with options.

Call 412-828-1100 and ask for group sales, or use the form at the bottom of this page. See also all group packages.

Opening hours

Holiday hours can differ, so check with us before a holiday visit.

Planning a team night? Tell us your team, your headcount and the gap in your game schedule, and we'll come back with options. Call 412-828-1100 and ask for group sales, or use the form below.

Related: youth sports team parties · all group packages · Suite 28 · large group events, 100 to 600 · bowling · laser tag · the arcade · escape rooms · Rail House Restaurant · End Zone Sports Bar · hours and location · a recent tournament weekend at Zone 28