Like it or not, Acrisure Stadium is here to stay and the Pittsburgh Steelers home, formerly known as Heinz Field, is no more - and things are moving very fast to cleanse the stadium of all things that were a part of the Heinz brand. Today, crews are preparing to remove the Heinz Field sign from the outside of the stadium, and CBS News Pittsburgh is streaming the event live online.
This comes a mere 48 hours later after the ketchup bottles were removed from the south side of the stadium.
It was announced on June 11 that Kraft Heinz did not renew the naming rights for the Steelers and that Acrisure, the Michigan-based insurance brokerage firm, secured the spot.
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.
