Steelers President Art Rooney II said that he is "optimistic fans will be allowed to attend games at Heinz Field sometime after September, but that will only be determined by the governor and state and local health officials," according to Gerry Dulac of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Rooney said, "We're going to stay optimistic about this. I really can't predict when we can have fans come in and, when we do, it will be a percentage of capacity. We're just going to remain optimistic by October we're in a place where we can start to welcome them back" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 9/3). Rooney said, "Everybody in the league this year is going to be taking a hit based on the situation." In Pittsburgh, Joe Rutter noted the Steelers as a concession to the pandemic "gave season-ticket holders an extra month to make payments, extending the deadline to June 1." Once the pandemic continued deeper into summer, the team "gave ticket holders the chance to opt out of retaining their seats for 2020 but with the option to keep them in '21." Rooney "didn't provide a specific total on the number of ticket holders who opted out or whether it was greater than he anticipated." He said, "I can't say I had any firm expectations there. Under the circumstances, I was pleased with the initial response we had going into June" (TRIBLIVE.com, 9/2).
