Heinz Field
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Heinz Field is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood, just across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the home stadium facility of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL franchise and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers college football team. The stadium sits on approximately 12.4 acres (50,000 m²) of land and has a seating capacity of 64,450, including approximately 6,600 club seats and a capacity of approximately 1,500 in 127 suites. It was built with a mixture of private and public funds to replace Three Rivers Stadium. Three Rivers was also the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team; they moved into PNC Park before Three Rivers was demolished. One purpose of building the new facilities was to provide each team with a dedicated building rather than a single shared-use stadium. Heinz Field and PNC Park were built opposite each other across the Three Rivers site, which is now a parking lot serving both stadiums and the site of several office building developments. The stadium sits directly across from "The Point" which is the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers to form the Ohio River.
Heinz Field is primarily a football facility, though it has also hosted soccer games and concerts—in fact the first event at the venue was a concert by pop band 'N Sync shortly after the stadium opened in August 2001. The Steelers debuted there during the 2001-2002 NFL season. The stadium is a bowl design with an open end facing south. The open end allows views of the Pittsburgh skyline across the Allegheny River.
The stadium's naming rights were acquired by the H. J. Heinz Company, and thus it is affectionately called "The Big Ketchup Bottle" by ESPN announcer Chris Berman and "The Mustard Palace" (a nod to its yellow seats) by many Pittsburgh-area sportscasters. The rights were acquired for $57 million, partially in a nod to the "57 varieties" claimed on its ketchup bottles. The main scoreboard at the south end of the stadium is flanked by neon red Heinz ketchup bottles, which rotate and appear to pour out ketchup when the Steelers enter the red zone during games.
Unlike Three Rivers, the playing surface at Heinz Field is natural grass. The field features underground heating to help the grass survive Pittsburgh's winter climate. As a result, the field is known for its difficult kicking surface; the only field goal over 50 yards was 51 yards, kicked by Pat McAfee of the West Virginia Mountaineers during the Backyard Brawl on November 16, 2006. The NFL record for kicking is just 50 yards, set by Jeff Reed in the 2006 season. In 2006, the NFL Players Association conducted a poll in which the grass at Heinz was selected as the worst grass field in the league.
[edit] AFC Championship games
Heinz Field has hosted the AFC Championship Game twice, on January 27, 2002 Attendance: 64,704 and January 23, 2005 Attendance: 65,242, with the Steelers losing to the New England Patriots in each game.
[edit] Coca-Cola Great Hall
The hall is housed on Heinz Field's first two floors near the East Entrance. It serves as one of the city's two football history and hall centers (the other being at the Heinz Regional History Center in the Strip District), focusing both on the rich traditions of the Pittsburgh Panthers and Steelers. It also hosts post and pre-game audience shows. Among the notable features of the hall:
- Seven Interactive display columns (5 Steelers, 2 Pittsburgh Panthers) hosting trivia, web features and memorabilia.
- Five "giant" Lombardi Trophy column displays devoted to the 1970's Steelers Super Bowl teams and the recent 2006 Super Bowl team, complete with replicas of each trophy.
- Twelve graphic murals showcasing Steelers and regional football history, complete with video and music of the era, two of these are dedicated to the Pittsburgh Panthers.
- Eight tile murals created by local high school students depicting regional football history.
- Portable stage area that can seat up to 220 below an encapsulating Steelers helmet, and housing two large video projections.
[edit] External links
- Official Heinz Field website
- Steelers Fever - Heinz Field
- Pittsburgh Steelers NFL website
- Pitt Panthers Heinz Field Site
- Heinz Field fact sheet
- Heinz Field Great Hall information
[edit] Picture Gallery
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