After 21 years of calling Heinz Field home, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a new name for their football stadium. Seemingly becoming synonymous with the Steelers, the Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Company’s naming rights for the stadium expired in February after initially purchasing the rights in 2001.
According to Andrew Fillipponi, Heinz had no plans to sign a new deal to retain the naming rights. After paying $57 million for the 20-year agreement, the partnership between Heinz and the Steelers is expired.
While the Steelers used to play at Three Rivers Stadium from 1970 to 2000, hearing anything other than Heinz Field will be strange for many football spectators. Three Rivers Stadium was later demolished in 2001.
A new name for the Steelers’ stadium has also already been leaked, but it’s not ketchup, or mustard, or anything anyone will eat.
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Pittsburgh Steelers will play at Acrisure Stadium for 15 years
Instead of playing at Heinz Field, the Pittsburgh Steelers will now be playing football at Acrisure Stadium. The location and building in Pittsburgh are the same, but the name will be changing. Acrisure is named after a Michigan-based insurance brokerage firm that was founded in 2005.
Even if you haven’t heard of them quite yet, now that they’ve reportedly signed a naming rights deal to represent the Steelers’ stadium, Acrisure’s profile is sure to grow with their 15-year agreement. Official financial terms have not been revealed, but the acquisition cost is said to be more than $10 million per season for Acrisure.
While this change is immediate, it that won’t help any of us quickly forget Heinz Field, that adjustment will take a long time to get used to. And some fans might not embrace the change, choosing to call it Heinz Field forever anyway.
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