Part 2 of the Heinz Field article
from October 11, 2024
researched and compiled
researched and compiled
by Carrie Birdsong
Field DesignWhen the outdoor sports venue opened in 2001, both end zones were pained athletic gold during Steelers home games (this also happened for the final five seasons at Three Rivers Stadium), with “PITTSBURGH” on the North side and “Steelers” on the South side, both words were painted black with white outlines. Either “Steelers” or “Panthers” was painted in the end zone, depending on the game, during the first three years.
For the 2002 Steelers regular season, the area covered by gold paint was reduced to just around the words. The design for the Wild Card matchup replaced the white letter outlines with athletic gold paint and removed it everywhere else.
In 2003, the Steelers played the Philadelphia Eagles in a preseason game with plain diagonal white lines in the South end zone, which were common in NFL end zones until the 1960s. Although the Steelers lost the game 21 – 16, team president Dan Rooney liked the look of the South end zone being “plain”, and decided to bring it back the next year. The 2003 season was the last to date which contained “PITTSBURGH” and “Steelers” in black words with athletic gold outlines in both end zones.
Starting in 2004, the wordmark designs were flipped in paint color, “PITTSBURGH” in the North and “Steelers” in the South were now athletic gold with the former having either dark blue outlines for Pitt or black for the Steelers. The diagonal white lines in the South end zone during the college portion of the season began this year too, with “Steelers” being added after Pitt played their final home game of the year.
In the aforementioned Dolphins-Steelers Monday Night Football match of 2007, the surface conditions had become so deteriorated from the rain and gameplay itself that the field grid of hash marks, yard lines, mid-field logo, and wordmarks in both end zones was barely visible throughout the game. Sideline hash marks (painted orange) and yard lines were re-painted at halftime.
From 2001 through 2010, there was typically no midfield logo when both Pitt and the Steelers were in season; the Steelers had their logo painted on the sidelines when Pitt’s football season was going and transferred it to midfield after Pitt’s football season ended (except for the first two seasons when it was only added for the postseason).
As of the 2011 season, Pitt and the Steelers in cooperation have their respective logos at midfield for their own home games, being interchanged frequently.
Being a member of the American Football Conference (AFC), the grounds crew of Acrisure Stadium has painted the conference logo in both end zones for every Pittsburgh Steelers postseason home game to date.
Recently, following the end of the Pittsburgh Panthers season, fans, including T.J. Watt and J.J. Watt, have spoken out to change the endzones to the gold ones, similar to the one at Three Rivers Stadium.(93)(94)(95)
Seating and Tickets
As of 2018, the Pittsburgh Steelers have sold out every home game since the 1972 season(96). Entering the 2008 season, the Steeler's average ticket price of $69.47 was the 15th highest out of the NFL’s 32 teams(97). The majority of the 65,050 seats are colored “Steelers gold”, though club seats are dark gray(10)(25). Acrisure Stadium features 1,500 seats in 129 luxury boxes, with prices ranging from $64,000 to $135,000 depending on location and size. These boxes were predicted to increase the Steelers’ profits from $10 to $11 million per season over those at Three Rivers Stadium. The stadium also features 6,600 club seats that include a restaurant and an indoor bar, at prices up to $2,000 per person(23). For the 2010 season, season ticket prices for Panthers games range from a maximum of $295 per club seat with required donations per seat between $250 and $500 depending on location, to as low as $87 per seat with no required donation for upper-end zone sections. Individual game ticket prices ranged from $30 to $65 depending on the seat location and the opponent. (98)
Great Hall
The Great Hall spans approximately 40,000 square feet on the east side of the stadium and houses a collection of Steelers and Panthers memorabilia. The Hall included a timeline of the Steelers franchise's major events, an oversized Steelers helmet hanging from the ceiling beside a video screen that shows entertainment for fans throughout game days(99). The Great Hall also features the actual lockers of several former Steelers, including Hall of Fame members Franco Harris, Joe Greene, and Bill Dudley. (99)
Six large Super Bowl trophies-shaped display columns were erected and contain artifacts from each championship the Steelers have won including replica trophies(100). Two display columns are dedicated to the University of Pittsburgh and contain memorabilia from the Panther’s teams. The floor is painted to resemble the post-baseball season football field at Three Rivers Stadium, with the word “Steelers” painted in black over a gold background(99). The University of Pittsburgh players are featured on two large murals within the Hall. Eight additional title murals created by local high schools represent Western Pennsylvania football history(100). In 2007, the Great Hall was named the best concourse at an NFL stadium by writer Bill Evans, in an article for ESPN.com.(43)
Seating Expansion
The Steelers notified the Pittsburgh Stadium Authority in December 2010 of their intention to add up to 4,000 seats to the lower southern end of the stadium. The plan would increase seating up to 69,050 as soon as the 2012 NFL season(101). Seating was added in that section for the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, which had an attendance of 68,111. The temporary seating was left in place for the 2010 – 2011 NFL playoffs, with the AFC Championship game on January 23rd having a record attendance of 66,662.(102)
On April 12th, 2012, the Steelers confirmed they would seek approval from the NFL to expand seating by 3,000(103). On May 19th, 2014, after more than two years, the Steelers and the SEA came to an agreement to add about 3,000 seats to the venue(104). After contractors surveyed the complex the final number of 2,390 added seats with five additional suites including more parking, restrooms, and concessions was determined in 2014 to increase capacity to a total of 68,400. The seating was put in place by the summer of 2015.(105)
On September 10th, 2016, the then largest crowd of 69,983 to ever see a sporting event in Pittsburgh watched the Pitt Panthers defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions, 42 – 39 as they renewed their rivalry in football.
On September 1st, 2022, a crowd of 70,622 fans broke the record attendance for a sporting event in Pittsburgh again, as No. 17 Pitt defeated the West Virgina Mountaineers 38 – 31 in the first Backyard Brawl since 2011.
Transportation access
Acrisure Stadium is located at Exit 1B of Interstate 279 within a mile of direct access to both Interstate 376 and Interstate 579. The stadium also has a dedicated elevated walkway access to the Allegheny Station of the Light Rail/Subway system. On Steelers and Panthers game days, access is also provided from Station Square parking facilities via the Gateway Clipper Fleet.(106)
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