Last week Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II said that he though there was a chance the massive Heinz Ketchup bottles that sit up on the scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium may stay. But today was the stadium begins to officially transition from Heinz Field to Acrisure Stadium the bottles were removed.
Chris Carter
One ketchup bottle down pic.twitter.com/pX1r9hDAZW
— Scott Danka (@ScottDanka) July 18, 2022
Rooney said this just last week.
“We appreciate the 20-plus year partnership that we have had with Heinz,” Rooney said in the press conference. “We are optimistic and hopeful to continue a sponsorship relationship with them. We are having discussions [on that].Who knows, the ketchup bottle[s] could be apart of that.”
But apparently things either went way wrong with Kraft Heinz since last week, or there was never a belief that the gigantic bottles would remain in place.
The first of two massive Heinz ketchup bottles framing the scoreboard is down at the newly-renamed Acrisure Stadium.@TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/0k4uBcO9V7
— Julia Felton (@JuliaFelton16) July 18, 2022
Pittsburgh made the switch from Kraft Heinz after being with the company for 21 years. The Steelers orginally signed a 20 year contract for 57 million dollars. Last off-season the two agreed to a one year deal to continue the name as they worked for a longer term deal. But when the name turned into a bidding war Kraft Heinz decided they weren't willing to match what Acrisure was.
"While we worked diligently with the Steelers for several months around a new naming rights deal, they found a new partner willing to pay significantly more than we could justify," Kraft Heinz said via a statement last week. "Kraft Heinz is committed to its ongoing support of the Steelers and the Pittsburgh community, in a city that is our co-headquarters. In addition to our partnership with the Steelers, we look forward to our continued support of organizations such as the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Grow Pittsburgh, as well as sponsorship of events like Picklesburgh, among others.
We wish the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers the best of luck in the season ahead."
