Remember when the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ home stadium was known as Heinz Field?
It was not that long ago.
Pittsburgh-based Heinz owned the stadium sponsorship rights from 2001 through 2022.
The company paid less than $3 million per year over a 20-year period (valued at $57 million) with a one-year extension added in 2021.
That changed in 2022 when Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Acrisure was granted sponsorship rights for the next 15 years at an estimated value of between $10 and $20 million per year.
The Acrisure Stadium era was born, but fans missed the iconic 33-foot tall Heinz ketchup bottles that flanked the scoreboard.
Though the Steelers digitally continued the tradition of “pouring” ketchup on the scoreboard when the Steelers got into the red zone, the bottles were still missed by fans.
They were symbols of Heinz history and the many good memories of Steelers football enjoyed at Heinz Field.
The good news is that one of the bottles made its way back to Acrisure Stadium in a shiny and refurbished state.
Heinz Gate
Though Heinz is no longer the sponsor of the stadium, the company reached a deal with the Steelers to sponsor Gate C now known as Heinz Gate.
With the name back on the stadium grounds, it was only a matter of time before ketchup would reappear.
It was a tedious process involving a flatbed truck and many contractors on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, to hang one of the iconic Heinz bottles from Heinz Gate.
Steelers fans could not be happier to see it back at home where it belongs.
2022 Ushered In A New Era For Steelers Fans
In addition to losing the Heinz bottles in 2022, Steelers fans were without future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who retired in 2021 after 18 seasons.
The Heinz Field scoreboard. pic.twitter.com/KOy1meyqzs
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 4, 2022
A familiar face, who knew his way around Acrisure Stadium, was drafted in 2022 to hopefully carry the Steelers’ winning torch forward.
He is former Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett.
It was a learning process for him throughout his rookie season, but the Steelers finished 9-8.
This marked the 19th consecutive winning season for the Steelers.
Superstition can be prevalent in sports so it makes us wonder if one of many reasons the Steelers could play better in 2023 is because Heinz is back in the building.
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