Sources: Before Acrisure, Steelers wanted to secure naming rights from Pittsburgh company
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — After 20 years, the Steelers' home field is no longer Heinz Field.
The new name with be Acrisure Stadium, named after a Michigan-based financial technology company.
Two decades ago, the late Steelers President Dan Rooney was determined that a Pittsburgh company have the naming rights to the new stadium and Heinz Field was born. Heinz 57 was given the family-friendly rate of $57 million over the next two decades.
As the contract ran out, sources say current Steeler President Art Rooney II was equally determined that Kraft-Heinz, some other company or a healthcare system like UPMC get the rights. But the Steelers could get no local takers.
KDKA's Andy Sheehan: "Is it disappointing that it's not a local company?"
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald: "Not necessarily. Look, Pittsburgh's changing. And some of us who've been around a long time aren't used to those changes."
Acrisure is a financial technology company headquartered in Michigan but does have a local connection. It is partly owned by one of the Steelers owners, Thomas Tull, a movie producer whose legendary pictures made The Dark Knight Rises in Pittsburgh and owns several local concerns.
Though Acrisure currently does not have a presence in the city, in a statement, its CEO Greg Williams indicated that may change.
"Relatedly, we are eager to invest in the Pittsburgh community and broader region as we chart our course to an unforgettable first season," the CEO said.
Fitzgerald said that's a good thing.
"The fact that another company has assigned a lot of value in Pittsburgh and obviously an iconic franchise like the Pittsburgh Steelers is something we should be proud of," Fitzgerald said. "That we're desirable, that people want to be part of what's going on in Pittsburgh."
In fact, as a technology company, Acrisure is more closely aligned with the new Pittsburgh economy of artificial intelligence, computer science and robotics, reflecting the changing times.
But the new name will take some getting used to.
"It may be a while before most Pittsburghers do call it the new stadium," Fitzgerald said. "That's something we'll have to see."
in a statement, the Steelers said this is a 15–year deal but did not divulge the financial terms. But sources indicate the yearly proceeds are expected to be substantially more than the $3 million a year Heinz paid.
