PITTSBURGH — Twenty-five years ago this week, the Steelers played their final game at Three Rivers Stadium, leading to a new era for the city of Pittsburgh.
Weeks later, Three Rivers Stadium was imploded.
From the rubble grew the beginning of a new North Shore, leading to the incredible destination neighborhood we now have.
“There’s really hardly a day in the year that goes by that there’s not some event taking place at one of the stadiums or Stage AE, and it’s been great to see,” Steelers owner and President Art Rooney II said.
But of course, that didn’t used to be the case on the north shore.
“The North Shore was basically a junkyard on both sides of the bridge. When you got over there, it was like old tanks and jeeps from World War II laying around in a junkyard,” Tooney said.
All of the immaculate moments that took place at Three Rivers Stadium over its 31-year history are forever etched in Rooney’s mind.
It was a bittersweet goodbye to the stadium that brought the Steelers franchise four Super Bowl seasons in its first decade of existence.
“We had such a great run there and so many great memories there. I always remember walking out the door for the last time,” Rooney said.
While Heinz Field was being built, preserving and celebrating the history of Three Rivers Stadium was key to both the Steelers and Pirates organizations.
“We were kind of looking at the map and figured out that Gate D pylon was actually outside the footprint of Heinz Field, so we said, OK, let’s try to keep that,” Rooney said. “...We love our history in Pittsburgh, and it’s great that we’ve been able to have so much recognition on the North Shore of what happened in the early days.”
And Rooney will never forget the changing of the guard, if you will, on a frigid February morning in 2001.
“I remember vividly the day Three Rivers Stadium was imploded, 20 feet across from Heinz Field. I almost had to close my eyes because I wasn’t sure what the impact was going to be on the new stadium. To walk in and see it open for the first time was really great.”
But it wasn’t just about the stadiums for the organizations. It was a long-term commitment and investment to add to the former junkyard just across the river.
“Seeing Three Rivers being built, just the North Shore changing and becoming a place where the community visited often, it was a dramatic change, and now to see everything that’s happened since Heinz Field and PNC Park went in, they’ve been true catalysts for ongoing development,” Rooney said.
The area has some classic Steelers flair to boot.
“Of course, our fans love to tailgate and to show up very early for their tailgates,” Rooney said. “That’s really become one of the hallmarks of the North Shore now are the tailgates. There’s some tailgate parties that have been going on when we opened the stadium that are still going on.”
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