Pittsburgh Steelers home opener: Guide to Sunday's game against San Francisco 49ers at Acrisure Stadium
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The quest for a seventh Lombardi Trophy starts this weekend with the Steelers' home opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
The gates open Sunday for the parking lots on the North Shore at 8 a.m. If you don't have presold spots in the surface lots, you will want to use the parking garages if you are parking close to the stadium.
"Closer to game time gets busy. You probably want to come at least two hours prior," Alco Parking General Manager Ralph Reetz said.
Just a reminder: Tailgating is only allowed in the surface lots. There is not too much allowed in the parking garages.
"If you want to have a beer and a sandwich, it's probably fine. But certainly, we don't allow any cooking or grills," Reetz said.
There is also plenty of lots in Downtown to park. You have the option of walking or the free North Shore connector.
Once you get into the stadium, you will notice new scanners, similar to those at PNC Park. You won't have to remove all your personal items. These will check for weapons. There also are touchless ticket scanners to hopefully move people faster.
For those of you looking to enjoy the gameday atmosphere without being at the game, restaurants are preparing for large numbers. Places like Bigham Tavern look at their numbers from last year to keep enough supply of food and drinks.
Here is more information from the Steelers about what is new. For more on mobile ticketing and the cashless stadium, click here.
"We don't want to run out of something. We don't want to go without, and we always hate telling our guests no," the tavern's general manager Kailin Clawson said.
They like so many other restaurants run specials for their guests and expect it to be packed wall-to-wall on Sunday. Away games are bigger draws, but home games certainly are organized chaos as well.
"There's TVs everywhere, so there's never a spot in this restaurant that you won't be able to see the game as well," Clawson said.
Restaurants say it may be best to make reservations if they make reservations. This can make sure there is a seat for you inside.
