Acrisure Stadium

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Lore & Background

The stadium's design deliberately acknowledges Pittsburgh's industrial heritage. HOK Sport's project manager Melinda Lehman said the Rooney family asked for a design that would 'acknowledge the history of Pittsburgh and also bring in an element of looking forward.' To accomplish this, the firm used steel structurally and externally, while the stone is artificial to reduce cost. The glass elements were chosen, Lehman explained, because 'glass is a more modern building element, which ties into a lot of the buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh and gives great views of the surrounding areas.' A bronze statue of Steelers founder Art Rooney, moved 100 feet from its previous spot outside Three Rivers Stadium, stands near the venue. A statue of a Pitt Panther over a paved depiction of Pitt's Cathedral of Learning was placed outside Gate A. The Great Hall holds a collection of Steelers and Panthers memorabilia. The stadium's natural-grass surface has drawn criticism over the years, but Steelers owners kept it after lobbying from players and coaches.

In Their Own Story

The first event at the stadium was an 'N Sync concert on August 18, 2001 — the same band that had performed the last show at Three Rivers Stadium. The Steelers played a preseason game against the Detroit Lions on August 25, winning 20-7 before 57,829 spectators. The first official football game was between the Pittsburgh Panthers and East Tennessee State on September 1; the Panthers won 31-0, with quarterback David Priestley scoring the first touchdown on an 85-yard run. The Steelers' regular-season opener was scheduled for September 16 against the Cleveland Browns, but the September 11 attacks postponed all NFL games that week. The stadium's NFL premiere came on October 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Before kickoff, President George W. Bush's speech ordering attacks on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan was shown live on the JumboTron, met with applause and support. The Steelers won 16-7; kicker Kris Brown scored the first NFL points on a 26-yard field goal, and quarterback Kordell Stewart scored the first touchdown on an eight-yard run.

Reader's Guide

For a first visit, arrive early to walk the concourse and see the bronze Art Rooney statue and the Pitt Panther statue outside Gate A. The Great Hall displays Steelers and Panthers memorabilia worth a slow look. The stadium's 27-by-96-foot Sony JumboTron was the largest scoreboard in the NFL when it opened in 2001. In 2007, ESPN named the 'tipping' of the oversized Heinz ketchup bottles atop the scoreboard one of the top ten touchdown celebrations in the NFL. The men's restrooms originally had trough-style urinals, unusual for a 21st-century stadium, but these were replaced in 2023 with individual urinals with privacy dividers. The stadium is inspected yearly by Chronicle Consulting, LLC for structural defects and maintenance. The Steelers' pledge to stay in Pittsburgh until at least 2031 was part of the funding deal approved in 1998. The naming rights, originally held by Heinz from 2001 through 2021, were purchased by Michigan-based Acrisure in 2022 after Heinz declined to renew.

Did You Know?

• The stadium's $281 million cost was funded in conjunction with PNC Park and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
• The first touchdown scored at the stadium was an 85-yard run by Pitt quarterback David Priestley on September 1, 2001.
• The stadium's original Sony JumboTron, measuring 27 by 96 feet, was the largest scoreboard in the NFL when it opened.
• Taylor Swift's Eras Tour performance on June 17, 2023, drew 73,117 people, the highest-ticketed event in Pittsburgh history.
• The stadium's naming rights deal with Heinz intentionally referenced '57' — Heinz paid $57 million through 2021.