Not many things can bring every facet of a community together to work as one. But in Latrobe, the Pittsburgh Steelers and students have inspired the effort.
From the school district to robots, every member of the community has pitched in to make the annual Friday Night Lights practice a success.
After a three-year hiatus — two years due to the covid pandemic and last year due to a torrential downpour — fans and organizers alike have high hopes that they will get to see the Steelers practice under the lights at Latrobe Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
The event is hosted by the Greater Latrobe School District. The district will receive the profits from the night to help fund athletics, school clubs, booster groups, scholarships and other community entities.
“Our local fire department helps us out, our parks and (recreation) department helps us out,” said Zachary Heide, athletic director of Greater Latrobe School District and head planner of the Friday Night Lights practice.
“Basically, the Greater Latrobe community as a whole takes part in helping us out.”
Heide said that he normally starts getting calls about the practice in late January to early February.
“People from out of state call and ask if we’re hosting the practice and if we’re selling tickets yet,” Heide said.
The flurry of activity that is preparing for the night practice doesn’t begin until the Steelers officially announce the training camp and the city adds the event to its calendar.
That’s when the real fun begins.
“We start getting calls, we start rounding up our athletic teams, community members, our boosters,” Heide said. “We start scheduling them for work, and they all get jobs.”
Members of the school athletic teams each have different assignments throughout the night. The high school bowling team will be drink and food runners for the VIP seats, and the cheerleaders will be greeters as fans enter the stadium. The school district maintenance and custodial crews also pitch in during the preparation.
Before preparing the field, volunteers begin to print tickets, order food, drinks and kitchen supplies for concession stands and spread the word about the event. The day before the practice, the field is mowed and lined by robots used by the outside groundskeepers.
The morning of the practice, Heide said volunteers will be up and working at 7 a.m., making sure everything is ready for the stadium doors to open at 5 p.m.
A tight ship is necessary when it comes to prep. This year, Heide expects to see at least 15,000 fans attend Friday Night Lights. A pre-pandemic practice would welcome 10,000 to 12,000 attendees on average, he said.
“The last good year we had we brought in somewhere in the range of $40,000 to $50,000,” Heide said. “That’s before expenses, but it’s a good number, and it helps everyone in the community.”
During the day
On the other side of the fence, the Greater Latrobe Laurel Valley Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the annual Steelers Fest in Legion Keener Park.
The event begins at 11 a.m. It includes food vendors, crafters, face painting, live music by DJ Dark Shark and a rock climbing wall.
The Steelers organization will be bringing outdoor games for younger fans, and players will be running youth football camps throughout the day.
“When the Steelers come to Latrobe, they offer so many different opportunities for the younger kids and for fans because they’re so up close and personal,” Heide said. “You don’t get that at a lot of places. Here, it’s like a family — they are family to us.”
Steely McBeam, the Steelers mascot, will be making an appearance to take photos with fans, and former Steelers players will sign autographs.
“Just the energy in Latrobe while the Steelers are here at Saint Vincent and out in the community is amazing,” said Briana Tomack, president and CEO of the Greater Latrobe Laurel Valley Chamber of Commerce and head planner of Steelers Fest. “(The players) are walking around. They’re in our stores, in our restaurants. They’re everywhere we are, and it’s really exciting for the community to get to see these guys.”
