The Steelers are already planning for their next arena, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato confirmed to City Cast Pittsburgh. But who will pay for it?
Public funding for sports arenas can be controversial. Supporters see it as an investment in civic pride and economic development; critics say it's an expensive subsidy for already wealthy people. And teams sometimes threaten to leave their host cities to add extra pressure to negotiations.
The Steelers are privately owned by the Rooney family, who founded the team in Pittsburgh in 1933. Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) cost $281 million when it opened in 2001. Voters at the time rejected a plan to help pay for the arena via a sales tax, but around 80% of its total cost came from public dollars anyway.
The team is already in the midst of a multi-million dollar upgrade — paid for through a mix of regional taxes and ticket sales — including seat replacements and eventually a new field. Some of this is related to the upcoming NFL Draft, but fully replacing Acrisure or nearby PNC Park could cost over $1 billion.
On the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast, host Megan Harris asked Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato what she's heard about whether the Steelers could ask for something bigger soon.
Here’s a snippet from their conversation:
Megan Harris: Have the Steelers talked to you about a public funding mechanism for a new stadium? Because the lease is up after the 2030 season, which means the time is probably nigh for them to start talking about this sort of thing.
Sara Innamorato: Yeah. We remain in constant communication about that.
Harris: It was very controversial last time. Are we gonna give public funding for that? What do you think?
Innamorato: We remain in constant conversation and negotiation around that.
Harris: OK. They're gonna want a roof, 'cause we really want a Super Bowl. They've been talking about that for like 50 years.
Innamorato: That's probably out of the budget.
Harris: It's really expensive to have a roof.
Innamorato: Yeah. I mean, if someone from the private sector wants to pay for that, godspeed.
