The Steelers yesterday debuted their $35M Heinz Field expansion, which added "new restaurants, suites, more than 2,600 seats and a new club level to the stadium's South Plaza," according to Robert Zullo of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Steelers Communications Coordinator Burt Lauten said that the new seats "created enough room for nearly 2,700 fans who had been on a waiting list for nearly 20 years to purchase season tickets." Zullo notes the new plaza "includes food vendors Burgatory, Papa John’s and Mac N’at at the Ford Fan Zone level, five suites and a 20,000-square foot club area that provides a view of the player’s tunnel." Approximately 1,500 gray club seats "also extend to the edge of the south end zone, the closest to the field of any in the stadium." While the renovations "closed off some of the view of Downtown and the wind whipping into the stadium for kickers, fans still will be able to see the skyline from the Ford Fan Zone tier." The expansion, paid for by the Steelers through an agreement with the Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority, "brings capacity at Heinz Field to 68,400" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/24). In Pittsburgh, Rob Rossi notes the open-air fan zone "is accessible to all ticket holders," and a disc jockey "will provide music before games." The enclosed plaza is "open to club and suite ticket holders." A cigar bar "does not allow smoking during games, but it will be open for non-football events." But the "real draw" may be the Ford Fan Zone tier, where fans are "provided eye-level sight lines of Point State Park and into Downtown from across the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/24).
SAY CHEESEHEAD: A GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE editorial stated of the Packers' new Titletown District, "The ambitious plan has a lot going for it -- Wisconsin companies, lots of public space, housing and room for other retail." It is "defined with its anchors," but is "flexible enough that it can accommodate a multitude of events, activities and retailers." It also is an "economic shot in the arm," and helps "secure the Packers financial future." Plus, the Packers are "trying to make the district attractive to millennials and keep young professionals in the Green Bay area instead of seeing them leave the area or the state" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 8/22).
