The developer is building his own Hyatt Place Hotel between Heinz field and PNC Park.

Channel 11 News reporter Alan Jennings found out the chairwoman who fought to stop it all has been thrown off the Stadium Authority Board.

Corporate lawyer Debbie Lestitian said she was kicked off the board by the same man she said pressured her to vote yes on the land deal. Lestitian said that man was Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

Lestitian said, “He met with me before the vote and just expressed his opinion that the Continental Hotel deal should be done.”

Lestitian voted no on the deal. When Jennings asked her if the mayor considered her to be a stumbling block she said, “If it wasn't the mayor, it was probably the Steelers that thought I was a thorn in their side.”

Four other Stadium Authority Board members voted yes and the deal went through.

Jennings reported that the Continental Developing company paid just $8 a square foot for the property.

Lestitian said the Steelers initially bought the land to develop an entertainment complex, but a time clause on their promise to perform ran out.

She said,” The Steelers actually assigned their rights to buy it to Continental so Continental owns it.”

Lestitian said she tried, but failed to convince her colleagues that since the Steelers contract on the land ran out, the re-sale of the property should be put out to be bid for maximum profit, not sold, she said, for just $1.32 million.

“We cannot afford to be selling our prime assets for $8 a square foot”, Lestitian said.

Lestitian said she was kicked off the Stadium Authority and informed about it from a staffer from the mayor’s office.

“He said I’m calling to tell you before you read it in the newspaper,” Lestitian said.

Lestitian said the Penguins paid $147 a square foot for the property for the new arena.

Jennings called the mayor's office and the Steelers for comment. Those calls were not returned.

Mayor Ravenstahl replaced Lestitian on the Stadium Authority board with another Michael Danovitz.