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Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League (NFL) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), respectively. The stadium opened in 2001, shortly after the controlled implosion of the teams’ previous stadium, Three Rivers Stadium. The stadium is named for locally based H. J. Heinz Company, which bought the naming rights in 2001.

Funded in conjunction with PNC Park, the US$281 million stadium stands along the Allegheny River, on the Northside of Pittsburgh. The stadium was designed with the city of Pittsburgh’s history of steel production in mind, which led to the inclusion of 12,000 tons of steel into the design. Ground for the stadium was broken in June 1999 and the first football game was hosted in September 2001. The stadium’s natural grass surface has been criticized throughout its history, but Steelers ownership has kept the grass after lobbying from players and coaches. Attendance for the 65,050 seat stadium has sold out for every Steelers home game, a streak which dates back to 1972. A collection of memorabilia from the Steelers and Panthers of the past can be found in the Coca-Cola Great Hall.

	Capacity		65.050
	Opened		August 24, 2001
	Owner		City of Pittsburgh
	Cost		$281 million
	Architect		HOK Sport

Kansas City-based HOK Sport designed the stadium. HOK’s project manager for Heinz Field, Melinda Lehman, stated the Rooney family asked that the stadium’s design “acknowledge the history of Pittsburgh and also bring in an element of looking forward, this is where Pittsburgh is going.” In order to accomplish this, HOK used steel structurally and externally. The stone used in Heinz Field’s design is artificial, in order to decrease cost. Of the glass used in the stadium’s design, Lehman said, “The glass is a more modern building element, which ties into a lot of the buildings in Pittsburgh and gives great views of the surrounding areas.” The Steelers and Panthers have their own locker rooms, which differ in size based on the amount of players each team is permitted to dress for each game. The visitor facilities are modeled after the home locker rooms’ design. As with its predecessor, Heinz Field’s culinary service provider is Aramark; over 400 eateries are located throughout the stadium.

A bronze statue of Steelers founder Art Rooney, similar to those located outside PNC Park, was moved 100 feet from its previous position outside Three Rivers Stadium. In addition, a statue of a Pitt Panther over a paved depiction of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning was placed outside Gate A. Upon opening in 2001, Heinz Field’s 27 by 96 foot Sony JumboTron was the largest scoreboard in the NFL. 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.

Ground was broken for Heinz Field on June 18, 1999, at a ceremony co-hosted by the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh. The stadium was constructed by Hunt Construction Group and Mascaro Corporation. The two companies directed 1,400 workers over two years, in which there were no construction accidents or lawsuits. The stadium is inspected yearly, along with PNC Park, by Chronicle Consulting, LLC, for structural defects and maintenance.

The first event held at Heinz Field was a concert hosted by the band ‘N Sync, on August 18, 2001. Prior to the Steelers regular season schedule, the team played a pre-season game against the Detroit Lions on August 25, 2001. Pittsburgh won the stadium’s unofficial opening game 20–7, with 57,829 spectators in attendance. The first official football game played in the stadium was between the Pittsburgh Panthers and East Tennessee State, on September 1. The Panthers won the game 31–0, with quarterback David Priestley scoring the first touchdown on an 85-yard run. The Steelers were scheduled to open the regular season play at Heinz Field on September 16 against the Cleveland Browns, however, due to the September 11, 2001 attacks, all NFL games of the week were postponed; thus moving the stadium’s premiere to October 7, against the Cincinnati Bengals. Prior to the game, a speech from US President George W. Bush, ordering attacks on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan was shown live on the stadium’s JumboTron. The speech was met with much applause and support from the spectators in attendance. Pittsburgh defeated the Bengals by a score of 16–7. Steelers kicker Kris Brown scored the first NFL points in the stadium on a 26-yard field goal, and quarterback Kordell Stewart scored the first touchdown on an eight yard run.

In addition to football games, Heinz Field has hosted other various activities. Since its opening in 2001, bands including ‘N Sync, Kenny Chesney, and LeAnn Rimes have performed at the stadium. In addition, hometown bands The Clarks and the Povertyneck Hillbillies have played multiple shows at the stadium. In 2002, the Pittsburgh Marathon concluded at Heinz Field, the course was altered from past years to allow competitors to cross the finish line on the field. In 2005, the Pittsburgh Wine Festival was held at Heinz Field, over 2,000 people attended. In 2007, writer Bill Evans named Heinz Field the second best stadium in the NFL, behind Lambeau Field, in an article for ESPN.com. Although both stadiums recieved a score of 54 out of 70, Sports Illustrated named Heinz Field the second best stadium in the NFL, also behind Lambeau Field.

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