Inside The Panthers

Pitt Has Not Discussed Acrisure Stadium's Future With Steelers

The Pitt Panthers' future in their home stadium remains unclear.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Has Not Discussed Acrisure Stadium's Future With Steelers
Pitt Has Not Discussed Acrisure Stadium's Future With Steelers /
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PITTSBURGH -- The lease on Acrisure Stadium, home to Pitt Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers football is up in seven years. The Steelers have yet to renew their agreement with the Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority, leaving the Panthers' long-term future at that venue in jeopardy.  

But Acrisure Stadium's two tenants are not close to an extension on their current agreement, which runs through February 2031. In fact, they haven't even begun to address what will happen when the lease is up, Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said at a press conference with local media this week. 

“We have not had any specific conversations," Lyke said. "And I’m not going to talk about football stadium issues.” 

Pitt and the Steelers rent the stadium through a joint operation called the PSSI Stadium Corporation and agreed to pay a total of $75 million dollars to the Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority in three equal payments when they signed the lease in 2001. The Steelers can choose to extend the existing lease in up to four five-year increments. 

Steelers president Art Rooney II said last summer that he hoped to engage in talks to renew the lease in later down the road. 

“We’d love to and we assume we will extend the lease at some point,” Rooney said. “We haven’t quite gotten to that point yet. ... At some point, we’ll get into those discussions down the road. … I certainly hope that we’re here for longer than that."

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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