It’s as black and white as an actuary table.
A new sign identifying Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore will run the entire length of the back of the main scoreboard and feature big white lettering against a black background.
The exterior sign — which will face the Allegheny River, the Downtown skyline and North Shore Drive — is one of four that the Steelers will present to the Pittsburgh Planning Commission next week during a briefing.
Those permanent signs will replace the familiar red and white lettering of Heinz Field, the moniker that graced the North Shore stadium for 21 years before the Steelers reached a 15-year naming rights deal this summer with Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Acrisure, a fintech company.
The most prominent new sign will be the one on the back of the main scoreboard at the south end of the stadium. It will include the company logo with “ACRISURE STADIUM” in large script.
It will be much larger than the old Heinz Field sign, which was centered on the back of the scoreboard and measured 493 square feet.
The new sign, at 1,598 square feet, will be more than triple that. according to a presentation submitted to the Planning Commission.
Despite its size, the Acrisure sign is 377 square feet less than the maximum allowed under the zoning governing the North Shore, the presentation calculated.
As part of the package, the Steelers also are proposing a large 652-square-foot Acrisure Stadium identifier at the north end of the venue near the Allegheny light rail transit station.
The NFL team is also seeking approval for two smaller signs on the east and west sides of the stadium measuring 243 square feet and 187 square feet, respectively.
Like the scoreboard sign, the other three will feature white lettering against a black background and the Acrisure logo. All four must go before the planning commission for approval. They are similar in design to some of the temporary Acrisure signage the team has been using to identify the stadium.
Steelers officials declined to comment.
Although financial terms have not been divulged, the naming rights deal with Acrisure is believed to be worth at least $10 million a year, far above the $2.85 million Heinz was paying.
Nonetheless, Heinz — now known as Kraft Heinz, with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Chicago — isn’t leaving the stadium completely.
The global food giant still will sponsor the Heinz Red Zone when the Steelers reach the opponent’s 20-yard line. In addition, one of the two giant ketchup bottles that had flanked both sides of the main scoreboard will be returning in a new display.
There also will be some Heinz-centric concessions offerings as part of a new five-year deal between the football team and the company.
In addition to the Acrisure Stadium package, the Steelers will brief the planning commission next week on a proposal for a new exterior sign for its Hall of Honor Museum.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com.
First Published: September 14, 2022, 6:08 p.m.
Updated: September 14, 2022, 7:44 p.m.
