Music and Sports Venues

Acrisure Stadium

100 Art Rooney Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Acrisure Stadium is located on the North Shore in Pittsburgh, PA. It sits across the river from downtown Pittsburgh at the point where the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers join to form the Ohio River. The stadium is home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) Panthers. It replaced Three Rivers Stadium in 2001 which was located right next to Acrisure Stadium and was home to both the Steelers and the Pirates from 1970 to 2000. Financing was approved in 1997 for new stadiums for both the Steelers and the Pirates. The stadium was named Heinz Field and kept that name until 2022 when the Heinz Company lost the naming rights to Acrisure. At the time there was a proposal on the table to renovate Three Rivers Stadium and use it for football only, as the Pirates were getting their own new stadium just up the street. The Steelers owner (Dan Rooney) pushed for a new football stadium fearing the city would fall behind other cities that had newer stadiums. It was finally decided the new stadium would be built and construction began in 1999. Shortly after the funding was approved the Steelers made a deal with the city of Pittsburgh to stay in the city at least until 2031. Three Rivers Stadium was imploded in February of 2001 while the new stadium was still under construction.

Pittsburgh is known as the Steel City because of its history of steel production and Heinz Field was designed with that in mind. The construction included 12,000 tons of steel that was used structurally as well as externally. The stadium was built in the shape of a horseshoe with the open end providing a view across the river at the city’s skyline. There’s no doubt you’re in Steeler country when you walk into the stadium. The east side of the stadium houses the Great Hall which is a 40,000 square foot area that consists of Steelers and Panthers memorabilia as well as other Pittsburgh sports history. Most of the stadium seats are “Steeler gold” with the exception of the club seats which are dark gray. The natural grass field has been a bit of controversy through the years but it has continued to win out over changing to artificial turf.

Before the stadium opened in 2001 the H.J Heinz Company purchased the naming rights. They paid $57 million to have the naming rights for twenty years which is said to reference the 57 in Heinz 57 Sauce. In 2015 H.J. Heinz acquired Kraft Foods to become the Kraft Heinz Company but the stadium’s name remained Heinz Field (the only name it has ever had). However, in 2022 Heinz lost the naming rights to Acrisure and the stadium became known as Acrisure Stadium. The stadium had a seating capacity of approximately 65,000 when it opened in 2001. In 2006 the Steelers added 700 club seats and two party suites in the north end of the stadium. Before the 2015 football season another 2,390 seats and five suites were added on the south end of the stadium. There are now 68,400 seats in the stadium including 7,300 club seats and 129 suites with 1,544 seats. The new seats in the south end closed in the horseshoe but did not block the view of the skyline.

Heinz Field Framed Art

Heinz Field 2X Matted 24×20 Black Ornate Framed Art Print from The Stadium Series

Heinz Field 2X Matted 24×20 Black Ornate Framed Art Print from The Stadium Series

Acrisure Stadium has hosted many other events along with Steelers and Panthers football. In 2011 it hosted the NHL Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. It has also hosted concerts such as Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney and LeAnn Rimes. The first event at the stadium in 2001 was an ‘N Sync concert. Ironically, they were also the last band to perform at Three Rivers Stadium.

The stadium is easy to get to if you’re going. There is access to interstates within a mile of the stadium. Also, the Light Rail/Subway comes in to Allegheny Station which has direct access to the stadium with an elevated walkway. If you want to park across the river at Station Square the Gateway Clipper Fleet provides transportation to the stadium on Steelers and Panthers game days.

If you get the chance to attend a Steelers game at Acrisure Stadium you won’t be disappointed. The Steelers have the best fans in America and the atmosphere is electric during the games.

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