Steelers Win Court Battle For Heinz Field Alteration

PITTSBURGH, PA — In a legal battle that has gone into overtime, the Steelers were victorious in a Commonwealth Court ruling Tuesday in their two-year fight to paint part of the Heinz Field lower seating bowl into undisclosed words.

A three-member court panel ruled in favor of the team, through its affiliated company PSSI Stadium, against the City of Pittsburgh and its zoning board of adjustment. The city had contended in 2019 that the signage would be an exterior sign prohibited under zoning regulations.

The Steelers challenged the board's denial of the request in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court and won, but the city appealed to Commonwealth Court. The city had no better luck there.

"The city’s position is without merit," President Judge Emerita Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter wrote in the opinion.

"The proposed signage is plainly not an exterior sign; it lies entirely inside the structure. Moreover, even if the city is correct that the painted seats would not qualify as an interior sign which is specifically permitted, we cannot agree that the signage is prohibited under the zoning code."

The city can appeal this latest decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

See the entire decision here.

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