Has anyone considered that Heinz Field could be Pitt Stadium if Steelers built complex

[mdpitt]

somewhere else in Allegheny County? Pitt could certainly have this opportunity if the Steelers really want to go big to be able to host many other events like Super Bowl, Final Four, Political Conventions, etc.... in a climate controlled manner. The end of the Lease for the Steelers and Pitt is coming up much faster than people realize.

This was a topic of Conversation at a fundraiser I attended and I made the comment that if Heinz Field simply had Pitt Stadium on the front, Pitt on the 50 and end zones with field turf and only 45,000 seats, people's perception of where they attend a game would change overnight.

That got the conversation going to Heinz Field could be the Facility that would house all of UPMC Sports Medicine. A few other people that were graduates of Pitt's Law and Business schools said it would be a very unique recruiting tool to relocate the two schools in the facility by essentially taking over a section or adding on.

It would kind of end some Pittsburgher's opinion that that Stadium only gets used 25 days a year and becomes a real draw every single day of the year. One could make the argument that freeing up the Law and Business school spaces for future Housing would be the smartest of money spent.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

The city, county and The Sports Authority are way too committed to the North Side contractually that this is not going to happen any time soon, if ever! I may be the only fan who likes Heinz Field for PITT!

 

[mdpitt]

The city, county and The Sports Authority is way too committed to the North Side contractually that this is not going to happen any time soon, if ever! I may be the only fan who likes Heinz Field for PITT!

So what if the Steelers say " we are not renewing our lease". This is going to happen so my point is there is an opportunity to use the Stadium and get a better facility for the Steelers. I like the Stadium but it could be improved for Pitt.

 

[happjack]

The Steelers aren't leaving Heinz Field or the North Side for a long long time. Every ten years or so Heinz Field will get something added to it along with other improvements at the tax payers expense.

 

[BuffetParrothead]

The Steelers won't and shouldn't leave the Northshore.
Pittsburgh has something special going on, on the Northshore.
Not being from the area its a great venue with all the stadiums close to eachother along with hotels, bars, & restaurants.
Steelers fans can take mass transit to the games which will probably be expanded.
Fans and visitors can easily combine PITT, Pirates, & Steelers games.
Northshore businesses and hotels would see significant reductions in business since many fans come to town for multiple days!

 

[NTOP]

somewhere else in Allegheny County? Pitt could certainly have this opportunity if the Steelers really want to go big to be able to host many other events like Super Bowl, Final Four, Political Conventions, etc.... in a climate controlled manner. The end of the Lease for the Steelers and Pitt is coming up much faster than people realize.

This was a topic of Conversation at a fundraiser I attended and I made the comment that if Heinz Field simply had Pitt Stadium on the front, Pitt on the 50 and end zones with field turf and only 45,000 seats, people's perception of where they attend a game would change overnight.

That got the conversation going to Heinz Field could be the Facility that would house all of UPMC Sports Medicine. A few other people that were graduates of Pitt's Law and Business schools said it would be a very unique recruiting tool to relocate the two schools in the facility by essentially taking over a section or adding on.

It would kind of end some Pittsburgher's opinion that that Stadium only gets used 25 days a year and becomes a real draw every single day of the year. One could make the argument that freeing up the Law and Business school spaces for future Housing would be the smartest of money spent.

Sacrilege.....that dump will NEVER deserve that proud name.

 

[PantherDave724]

The Steelers aren't leaving Heinz Field or the North Side for a long long time. Every ten years or so Heinz Field will get something added to it along with other improvements at the tax payers expense.

The Rooneys got over Three Rivers in 30 years. Heinz is 16 years old. There are stadiums way better now. You gotta keep up. Moving away from the city would be in their best interest financially.

 

[CaptainMurphy]

I don't think it ever happens. But if it did, I think Heinz could be really cool if you removed the upper decks and added about 10 rows to the lower deck all the way around. Ring the entire bowl with a multi-level luxury/press box and you'd have a mini Lambeau (open on the river end). I've always preferred the atmosphere of single-tiered bowls to stadiums with multiple decks. I've never understood why no other NFL team went back to this design since it works so well for Green Bay. I understand the reasons for decking stadiums but some of the best atmospheres are at college and pro stadiums with the single tier.

If the Steelers were ever to leave to North Shore, I'm sure the city would be eyeing that land up for more bland development that permeates the north shore between PNC and Heinz.

 

[CorsosRevenge]

The only way to improve Heinz field is to knock it the hell down and start over. It was a horrible design from the beginning, with as lower bowl with not enough slope and an upper deck with too much. The three levels of club and box seats give you a feeling in the upper deck like you're disconnected from the place. Plus those shitty tarps on the rotundas.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

If this were to happen, Pitt would have to absorb the (ever-rising) maintenance costs of an aging stadium. Good luck wit dat. And who knows what the price would be to "down-size" Heinz Field to a more manageable capacity?

And finally, it still wouldn't solve the problem that Pitt has with not having an on-campus facility.

 

[NCanton Panther]

The only way to improve Heinz field is to knock it the hell down and start over. It was a horrible design from the beginning, with as lower bowl with not enough slope and an upper deck with too much. The three levels of club and box seats give you a feeling in the upper deck like you're disconnected from the place. Plus those shitty tarps on the rotundas.

I can't comment on the upper deck because I've never sat there and never would have any interest in sitting there. However, regarding the lower deck, my season tickets are in the top quarter of a lower deck section and I definitely have no problem with the slope of the lower bowl, perfect sight lines and feel relative to the field. If you're complaining about the lower bowl slope, must be for rows up at the front/closer to the field.

Heinz may not have all the bells n whistles of some other pro stadiums but there are some other aspects of it that are definitely appealing. The open end with the view of the city is one that I think gives it a much better feel than a fully enclosed stadium. Although their recent additions have now closed off some of it.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

somewhere else in Allegheny County? Pitt could certainly have this opportunity if the Steelers really want to go big to be able to host many other events like Super Bowl, Final Four, Political Conventions, etc.... in a climate controlled manner. The end of the Lease for the Steelers and Pitt is coming up much faster than people realize.

This was a topic of Conversation at a fundraiser I attended and I made the comment that if Heinz Field simply had Pitt Stadium on the front, Pitt on the 50 and end zones with field turf and only 45,000 seats, people's perception of where they attend a game would change overnight.

That got the conversation going to Heinz Field could be the Facility that would house all of UPMC Sports Medicine. A few other people that were graduates of Pitt's Law and Business schools said it would be a very unique recruiting tool to relocate the two schools in the facility by essentially taking over a section or adding on.

It would kind of end some Pittsburgher's opinion that that Stadium only gets used 25 days a year and becomes a real draw every single day of the year. One could make the argument that freeing up the Law and Business school spaces for future Housing would be the smartest of money spent.

Gees--45,000K seating says SMALL TIME PROGRAM in no uncertain terms. I would never want less seating capacity than you could fill when you are a top 10 team playing another top team. Trying to make it look better on TV (no empty seats) for weak opponents and low interest games is small time thinking, IMO. I don't want to see Pitt ever in the position to have to turn away up to 25,000 people for a PSU, WVU, Notre Dame or Clemson type game just so it will look better on TV for a Villanova or an Akron game. Size for maximum interest games not average or below average interest games!!!

 

[CaptainMurphy]

Gees--45,000K seating says SMALL TIME PROGRAM in no uncertain terms. I would never want less seating capacity than you could fill when you are a top 10 team playing another top team. Trying to make it look better on TV (no empty seats) for weak opponents and low interest games is small time thinking, IMO. I don't want to see Pitt ever in the position to have to turn away up to 25,000 people for a PSU, WVU, Notre Dame or Clemson type game just so it will look better on TV for a Villanova or an Akron game. Size for maximum interest games not average or below average interest games!!!

I don't care if we turn away people for the big rivalry games since those are going to be mainly fans of the opposing team. Keep home field advantage regardless of how big the opponent is.

And 45-50K can definitely feel very big time and not small at all. Look at Minnesota, TCU, and Baylor....all have impressive stadiums between 45-50K seats and none of them seem small. Those are not small time programs.

 

[cbpitt2]

Gees--45,000K seating says SMALL TIME PROGRAM in no uncertain terms. I would never want less seating capacity than you could fill when you are a top 10 team playing another top team. Trying to make it look better on TV (no empty seats) for weak opponents and low interest games is small time thinking, IMO. I don't want to see Pitt ever in the position to have to turn away up to 25,000 people for a PSU, WVU, Notre Dame or Clemson type game just so it will look better on TV for a Villanova or an Akron game. Size for maximum interest games not average or below average interest games!!!

Then you move the game to Rooney Stadium like Cincinnati does. They play their games at Nippert Stadium on-campus and if there's a huge game and crowd expected (more tickets sold than Nippert's capacity) they move the game to Paul Brown Stadium. It's the best of both and entirely up to the school to decide if they want to move the game site to a larger venue.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

Then you move the game to Rooney Stadium like Cincinnati does. They play their games at Nippert Stadium on-campus and if there's a huge game and crowd expected (more tickets sold than Nippert's capacity) they move the game to Paul Brown Stadium. It's the best of both and entirely up to the school to decide if they want to move the game site to a larger venue.

^^^This.^^^. I'd rather turn away fans (maybe, at best) one game, every other year, than to look at empty seats -- and have to build + maintain those empty seats -- for the rest of the year.

The cost of constructing, say, 15,000 more seats and supportive areas (extra restrooms, concession areas, etc) for seats that would hardly be used would be wasteful.

 

[CorsosRevenge]

Houston moves its big games to Reliant Field as well

 

[CaptainMurphy]

If you can find a way to ensure Pitt fans grab the extra 15-20K seats then sure, move to the bigger venue. Otherwise I'm not sure why the extra seats matter. I don't care to see a bunch of nitters or hoopies taking up a quarter to third of our stadium. I know money talks but having a huge packed stadium doesn't matter to me provided the atmosphere is good and the seats are filled.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Google Sports Authority

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Gees--45,000K seating says SMALL TIME PROGRAM in no uncertain terms. I would never want less seating capacity than you could fill when you are a top 10 team playing another top team. Trying to make it look better on TV (no empty seats) for weak opponents and low interest games is small time thinking, IMO. I don't want to see Pitt ever in the position to have to turn away up to 25,000 people for a PSU, WVU, Notre Dame or Clemson type game just so it will look better on TV for a Villanova or an Akron game. Size for maximum interest games not average or below average interest games!!!

DC, you really need to stop this. It would insane, totally insane for Pitt to build a stadium 20K seats too big just so we can accommodate extra ND, PSU, and WVU fans. If Pitt feels the need for more of their fans to watch them play Pitt, they can move the game to Heinz Field.

You dont build a stadium to fulfill the demand of 1 "event game" every 2 or 3 years and have 20K empty seats every Saturday. You build a stadium to meet the demands of a normal Pitt Saturday. I won't shed any tears if only 7K ND fans show up instead of 20K.

 

[JamesDeLeon]

Gees--45,000K seating says SMALL TIME PROGRAM in no uncertain terms. I would never want less seating capacity than you could fill when you are a top 10 team playing another top team. Trying to make it look better on TV (no empty seats) for weak opponents and low interest games is small time thinking, IMO. I don't want to see Pitt ever in the position to have to turn away up to 25,000 people for a PSU, WVU, Notre Dame or Clemson type game just so it will look better on TV for a Villanova or an Akron game. Size for maximum interest games not average or below average interest games!!!

How many fans will be at Heinz on Saturday?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Houston moves its big games to Reliant Field as well

No they dont. They played there for a year or 2 while their new stadium was being built. This year's game against OU was that neutral site kickoff game the Texans always host.

 

[Swervin27]

steelers are contractually obligated to stay in Pittsburgh for another 14 years.. Nothing is happening, steelers are not leaving the area.. insane to even think it's a possibility..

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I will just have to disagree with you guys on this subject.

I don't care whether we have empty seats for some games. Stupid thing to be concerned about.

I don't want an on campus stadium in Oakland in any event. Access and parking would stink.

I want Pitt playing in a Stadium large enough that Big Time schools will be willing to play home and home OOC games. 45,000 won't hack it, IMO.

As I have posted elsewhere, I'd be okay with seat backs limited to 45,000 on the sidelines if another 20-25,000 retractable bleacher seats were available in the end zones for that larger demand game or two each year for a new Pitt stadium (hopefully not in Oakland requiring that lousy Bates Street haul in and out).

 

[Delpanther]

I don't care if we turn away people for the big rivalry games since those are going to be mainly fans of the opposing team. Keep home field advantage regardless of how big the opponent is.

And 45-50K can definitely feel very big time and not small at all. Look at Minnesota, TCU, and Baylor....all have impressive stadiums between 45-50K seats and none of them seem small. Those are not small time programs.

55k- no less with possibility to seat 60-65k for big games.

 

[kma0043]

somewhere else in Allegheny County? Pitt could certainly have this opportunity if the Steelers really want to go big to be able to host many other events like Super Bowl, Final Four, Political Conventions, etc.... in a climate controlled manner. The end of the Lease for the Steelers and Pitt is coming up much faster than people realize.

This was a topic of Conversation at a fundraiser I attended and I made the comment that if Heinz Field simply had Pitt Stadium on the front, Pitt on the 50 and end zones with field turf and only 45,000 seats, people's perception of where they attend a game would change overnight.

That got the conversation going to Heinz Field could be the Facility that would house all of UPMC Sports Medicine. A few other people that were graduates of Pitt's Law and Business schools said it would be a very unique recruiting tool to relocate the two schools in the facility by essentially taking over a section or adding on.

It would kind of end some Pittsburgher's opinion that that Stadium only gets used 25 days a year and becomes a real draw every single day of the year. One could make the argument that freeing up the Law and Business school spaces for future Housing would be the smartest of money spent.

Even though I seriously doubt that the Steelers are going to leave the northshore at any time soon, if Pitt were to be given Heinz Field they should look at what the Dolphins/Hurricanes did with old Joe Robbie Stadium down in Miami. Enclosed the stadium some, remove some seats, put in more video boards. Even though the Hurricanes struggle with attendance, the overhaul of their stadium is impressive.

 

[pittjagger]

Hard Rock renovations were definitely impressive.

 

[OriginalEther]

Then you move the game to Rooney Stadium like Cincinnati does. They play their games at Nippert Stadium on-campus and if there's a huge game and crowd expected (more tickets sold than Nippert's capacity) they move the game to Paul Brown Stadium. It's the best of both and entirely up to the school to decide if they want to move the game site to a larger venue.

No, this is the worst of both worlds.

The argument against Heinz is that the atmosphere stinks and thus, Pitt loses some home field advantage.
Fine.
I don't agree with it, but for sake of discussion, I'll play along.

So, you build this new stadium to increase atmosphere. But, for the biggest games, the ones where Pitt needs the atmosphere and home field advantage the most, you're going to move those games to Heinz? So 20,000 psu/wvu/Notre dame/etc fans can attend?

 

[paulbl99]

The only way to improve Heinz field is to knock it the hell down and start over. It was a horrible design from the beginning, with as lower bowl with not enough slope and an upper deck with too much. The three levels of club and box seats give you a feeling in the upper deck like you're disconnected from the place. Plus those shitty tarps on the rotundas.

It's the worst design of any of the new era stadiums, not even close.
Save for....
The GiantS/Jets not building something like Jerry Stadium there in Jersey.
That has to be an all time screwup.

 

[mdpitt]

steelers are contractually obligated to stay in Pittsburgh for another 14 years.. Nothing is happening, steelers are not leaving the area.. insane to even think it's a possibility..

Nobody ever said they were leaving the area but to think the Steelers will be comfortable in Heinz a decade from now is ignoring the obvious. I believe they will be downtown but maybe not on the North Shore and they won't play at WVU or somewhere else in the two years it would take to build a domed facility on the same footprint.

 

[mvk112]

It's the worst design of any of the new era stadiums, not even close.
Save for....
The GiantS/Jets not building something like Jerry Stadium there in Jersey.
That has to be an all time screwup.

No it's not. Pretty much every stadium ranking has it in the top ten in the NFL. This is from the first page of a Google search for NFL stadium rankings. The only people who think Heinz Field is poorly designed/built are Pitt fans who are looking to complain about a perfectly fine stadium situation.

Sporting News #7
National Football Post #4
USA Today #6
AOL.com #7
Scout.com #4
Chicago Tribune #8

 

[paulbl99]

No it's not. Pretty much every stadium ranking has it in the top ten in the NFL. This is from the first page of a Google search for NFL stadium rankings. The only people who think Heinz Field is poorly designed/built are Pitt fans who are looking to complain about a perfectly fine stadium situation.

Sporting News #7
National Football Post #4
USA Today #6
AOL.com #7
Scout.com #4
Chicago Tribune #8

It's crap compared to those built in its timeframe and after.
Lower Bowl is much too small ...upper stands way too massive which are like that so it could be built on the cheap.

Being a Pitt fan has nothing to do with it...nothing
It isn't very nice that's all.

 

[mvk112]

It's crap compared to those built in its timeframe and after.
Lower Bowl is much too small ...upper stands way too massive which are like that so it could be built on the cheap.

Being a Pitt fan has nothing to do with it...nothing
It isn't very nice that's all.

That's not an opinion that's shared by many around the league.

Of the newer stadiums, I've been to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Tampa, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Chicago (post renovation). Heinz is as good or better than all of them.

 

[paulbl99]

That's not an opinion that's shared by many around the league.

Of the newer stadiums, I've been to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Tampa, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Chicago (post renovation). Heinz is as good or better than all of them.

It's just an opinion
Phil and Baltimore are much Nicer stadiums.
So are NE and several others including Indy which puts Heinz to shame...
That's an opinion too

The massive upper deck at Heinz is extremely ugly and it dominates the entire footprint.
North end zone upper what is that ?


Having said that it's Pittsburgh and it is what it is.
We have an NFL franchise and a stadium.
Which are good things.

Just don't care for it dude don't read anymore into it.
Like junk about Pitt.

 

[NCanton Panther]

It's just an opinion
Phil and Baltimore are much Nicer stadiums.
So are NE and several others including Indy which puts Heinz to shame...
That's an opinion too

The massive upper deck at Heinz is extremely ugly.
Flat out

Having said that it's Pittsburgh and it is what it is.
We have an NFL franchise and a stadium.
Which are good things.

Just don't care for it dude don't read anymore into it.
Like junk about Pitt.

Paulbl99, how many of these other stadiums you claim to be so much better have you actually been to? I've only been to 2 of them but neither seemed better than Heinz to me.

 

[paulbl99]

Paulbl99, how many of these other stadiums you claim to be so much better have you actually been to? I've only been to 2 of them but neither seemed better than Heinz to me.

3
You dudes are making a MTN out of a molehill

I don't like the design at all and in short have explained why

WTHeck is wrong with that?

 

[CaptainMurphy]

Paul, I tend to agree with you. I think a true horseshoe like the Broncos Stadium would have been a better design. Baltimore's stadium is nicer too with less massive decks that don't dominate the stadium. Heinz is OK but I think it would have been nicer with a smaller upper deck that horsehoed the stadium. There are too many seats it the end zone upper deck.

 

[PittPanther44]

Heinz is a nice stadium, and yes it is on most NFL top 10 lists. So the people that complain about the actual venue are a little misguided.

That said....

Part of those NFL ratings are the actual environment being included in that analysis. The Steelers have as much game day fan tradition as anyone.

So it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it could be great if we made it great. How do you do that. It's simple (not easy, but simple). You consistently win. You make it so the eyes of the nation are on games played there consistently. It won't take a 70's and early 80s type run - but something in that direction.

We need the "yinzer fringe" that are there for the event and for the party. Eventually, it becomes in their blood as well. But to do that, you have to stack years of being relevant. Then the atmosphere takes care of itself.

This is a great sports town. But it's never been a good "minor league" sports town. Arena football won't take off, neither will American soccer or minor league baseball. If you are playing Duke and YOU aren't a top 15-20 type program, that will have a "minor league" feel here. That's why PITT has to be the draw. If you are fighting your way into the top 15 every year and occasionally the playoffs, it will be "big time" without the opponent causing it.

So the answer is WIN.

 

[PittPanther44]

Also - if PITT did become consistently that program, i don't want hear 70s attendance comparisons. It's a different era. The world is smaller and better connected now. Heinz would be filled. We live in an event culture and the North Shore certainly supports that.

 

[OriginalEther]

The only recent stadium I've been to is LP Field in Nashville,and I thought Heinz Field was the nicer stadium, hands down.

Actually, is Raymond James stadium in Tampa newer or older?
Forgot I was there in 2010 for a Pitt v USF game.

As for college, I'll say it again, the only stadium that makes me hate playing at Heinz is Navy's.

 

[PittPanther44]

Navy's is cool....but also only has like 4 restrooms that are the size of the ones where I work.

It's like talking about your significant other. Just remember - there is a lot out there that might have some traits that are better. But that doesn't mean that they have all the "good traits" your current one has. Always a tradeoff