Ben Roethlisberger: Pitt shouldn’t play at Acrisure Stadium

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

So you don’t have to click link (Florio)

Ben’s statement and he’s right

But Rooney’s moneyshake went along with the doofus stadium authority rabble to have Pitt and the HS slop butcher that field year after year
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Ben Roethlisberger: Pitt shouldn’t play at Acrisure Stadium

By
Mike Florio

Published October 14, 2025 08:21 PM

Since Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) opened in 2001, the Steelers have shared the venue with Pitt. And it often shows.

On Sunday, the Steelers’ home game was played on turf that looked and played horribly. Kicker Chris Boswell slipped and fell during a field goal attempt. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers called the surface “borderline unplayable.”

Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger agrees.

“You can’t have a professional football team, not just the Steelers but the opponents, play on a surface like that,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “Because you’re paying them a lot of money and if people get hurt, it’s not a good thing.”

Roethlisberger has a simple solution.

“And the only thing I can think of is — and I’ve been saying this for a while — I don’t think Pitt should play there anymore. . . . I’m saying this for Pitt’s sake as well. I firmly believe that Pitt should put like a 35,000-person stadium up [in] Oakland. Pack that thing, because when you’ve got 65,000 or 70,000 in Acrisure and it’s only half full, what’s that look like? . . . Put a 25,000-person stadium and then have it just bumping, crazy, loud. Fans everywhere. The students won’t to drive anywhere, they can walk . . . to the stadium, walk to the game, walk back to their dorms. And then you keep them off of that field for the Steelers.”

Roethlisberger recognizes that it may not be easy to move the college team, given the taxpayer deal that built the stadium. Still, and as Roethlisberger said, "[T]hey’ve got to figure out how to separate those things and make that field better, because you can’t put that product out there for the best kicker in the game to miss field goals.”

Yes, grass fields are better than turf. But that doesn’t mean grass fields should be bad grass. Every NFL team should play on high-quality grass. It ridiculous that they don’t, especially in the stadiums where the field is already grass.

[gojira5150]

Could you imagine if Boz had ripped up his knee on that FG. Jibba wouldn't know what to do with himself. The outrage would have been high. This field is atrocious for an NFL stadium. Unbelievable

[Steeldrama]

Yeah read this on PFT this morning and had some thoughts on it.

Most of my family are Pitt alum. Sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparent, great uncle. I have cousins with medical degrees from Pitt who now have kids there. The last of my nephews is now there. Only me and my nephew give a rip about Pitt football.

He HATES the commute over to Heinz Field to watch HIS beloved Panthers in a half empty, mostly lifeless environment.

Ben rarely says anything of interest in his podcast, but I like the suggestion for a SMALL capacity on campus stadium.

Small, packed house MUCH better than an empty big house so why not embrace the feel of a minor league ballpark? Afterall, Pitt and the ACC are rapidly becoming the minor leagues of college football.

For comparison, here in my transplant hometown of Atlanta, GA, Georgia Tech plays their home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium. It's literally a 5 minute drive from Mercedes Benz where the Falcons play.

Tech in the same deteriorating ACC that Pitt is stuck in.

YET the atmosphere at Tech games I've been to is light years better than Pitt at Heinz Field (and the crappy ass Falcons for that matter).

Both are city schools, both largely irrelevant programs in the grand scheme of college football (although Tech surging of late under stud coach Brett Key)

YET Tech makes it work and work well in a smaller, on campus stadium.

Pitt could and SHOULD as well.

I know Ben’s point is more about the condition of the turf (ridiculous a billion dollar business can’t afford some decent turf).

But I’ve long pined for Pitt to get back on campus for its students and fanbase (I could give a flying fadoodle fart about Pitt ripping up the turf)

I don’t doubt the cheap bastards that control the coffers over at UPMC have zero interest at funding their own stadium, but man I know it’d bring me back up there for a game or 3.

Pitt at ACRICRAP?

Not in my lifetime, brother

[RealSwiss]

Didn't there used to be a stadium in Oakland? What happened? Is it a hospital or classroom now?

Haven't been to the city in 30+ years probably.

[CKSteeler]

The field has been a disgrace since the stadium was built. Just too many games played on it. Everyone knows it. Nothing is going to change because the Rooney's are cheap.

Even if they weren't, I'm sure there's contracts they can't get out of at this stage.

[StillerDownSouth]

If Pitt must continue to play there then the only real answer is they need to just go with field turf, hell as much money that they have spent in the last 25 years on sod, they probably could have installed field turf several times for the same money.

[langer]

My Dad used to take me to Pitt games back when they were mostly good, late 70s, early 80s.

That place was absolutely mental.

They keep building shit up there, put a goddamned stadium up there. So stupid to have ripped that down.

[Orlaco]

The field has been a disgrace since the stadium was built. Just too many games played on it. Everyone knows it. Nothing is going to change because the Rooney's are cheap.

The entire stadium has been disgrace since the day it was built (ok…nice open’ish endzone view). Typically as new stadiums get built they leapfrog previous ones from around the league. I’ve been to the majority of NFL stadiums and ours is ‘not impressive’. I’d actually say it’s the Steelers that need a new stadium…not Pitt.

[.Kodiak]

The entire stadium has been disgrace since the day it was built (ok…nice open’ish endzone view). Typically as new stadiums get built they leapfrog previous ones from around the league. I’ve been to the majority of NFL stadiums and ours is ‘not impressive’. I’d actually say it’s the Steelers that need a new stadium…not Pitt.

It's coming up on 30 years old. I don't know how long these stadiums are expected to last - it's certainly not historic like Soldier Field or Fenway.

But even in modern dollars, that stadium would supposedly cost like $500M in 2024. Even if actual construction costs outpaced inflation significantly, maybe $1B. But teams are building MULTI-billion dollar stadiums today.

Not just the field and seating, either. Players have complained about the facilities as among the worst in the NFL.

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

NflpA also been involved here (player outrage, other than Rodgers)

Hope Rooney gets fined

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ion-to-nfl

[langer]

The concrete is all cracked on the upper level decks. I think they also had some issues with the corkscrews at the time of opening. They had to put some cabling and turnbuckles to keep them from falling off.

I've been involved with big construction projects, and shit happens.

https://archive.triblive.com/news/is-he ... -concrete/

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority filed a lawsuit Wednesday against five contractors and suppliers, alleging systemic failure of the expansion joints installed throughout Heinz Field. The joints -- composed of chemical adhesives, waterproof membranes, insulation packing and metal -- are designed to expand and contract as the stadium heats and cools, preserving the concrete slabs that form the bulkheads and passageways.