Acrisure cracks Top 10 in 'Most Haunted Stadium' list put out by sports tipsters

Timely tidbit: Acrisure Stadium may be the 10th most haunted stadium in the NFL.

So says a study by Pickswise, a site that handicaps sporting events for bets. It boasts 63 wins against the spread through Week 7 of this football season.

The haunted rankings were determined using these metrics:

• Distance to closest cemetery

• Ghost stories about the stadium

• The stadium’s age

• Length of time since last Super Bowl win

• Number of haunted locations per 1,000 square miles in the state.

Another possible explanation — revenge of the ketchup barons, Henry J. Heinz or his great-grandson, former Sen. John Heinz, who died too soon in a tragic plane crash in 1991. It’s been three years since the Heinz name was replaced by Acrisure.

The stadium is 1.4 miles away from Union Dale Cemetery. There are three ghost stories associated with the site and there are 2.19 haunted locations per 1,000 square miles in Pennsylvania.

That the stadium is a mere 24 years old makes its appearance in the Top 10 worth noting, according to a publicist for Pickswise.

The rest of the Top 10 aren’t surprising, when considering the horrors that were witnessed within their walls:

Here are the nine sites that beat out the home of the Steelers:

9. Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. This 38-year-old stadium has hosted six Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI, XLIV, LIV), two World Series and enough high profile college football games, some of which still may haunt the losers.

8. Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams have improved since they moved from Tampa Stadium, dubbed the Big Sombrero by ESPN’s swami, Chris Berman, and it’s only been 5 years since the football Bucs’ last Super Bowl run. But it’s closer to a cemetery than Acrisure, and there are more ghost stories and haunted locations in Florida.

7. Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. On a cool day and with a deep breath one might still be able to inhale second hand smoke from Vince Lombardi, perhaps the closest thing the NFL has to a pope. In 68 years, the site has been subject to the stuff of guts and glory.

6. TIAA Bank Field, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now known as EverBank Stadium, the site has rarely seen NFL-caliber football. And it’s in northern Florida, man.

5. Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. There are plenty of skeletons buried in the motor city and the Lions have yet to appear in the big game. Their best player, Barry Sanders, walked away in his prime, a decision that haunts as much as it taunts fans.

4. MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants/New York Jets, but located in East Rutherford, N.J. It’s new-ish (15) but the end zone of its predecessor was thought to hold Jimmy Hoffa’s remains. ‘Nuff said.

3. Huntington Bank Field, home of the Cleveland Browns. If ever an NFL team were cursed, it’s this one, a great rival to the Steelers despite their hapless antics between the hash marks that included a run of three heart-breaking playoff losses in the 1980s that haunt several generations of Ohioans. If you visit, ears and nose plugs are recommended.

2. Highmark Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills. In its swan song this year, the stadium’s hometown boys have soared fans’ spirits here as much as they’ve dashed their hopes. And O.J. Simpson once ran the field (as a Bill not in a Bronco).

1. Caesar’s Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. The Big Easy has a way of making a person uneasy at times with its above-ground graves. It’s also a fun place to party, which has made it an ideal site for eight Super Bow bowls, most recently LIX when the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles topped the Kansas City Chiefs. If its roof could talk, the tale could be terrifying.

Pickswise’s publicity team didn’t immediately respond to questions about the rankings and the Steelers didn’t respond to requests seeking comment about Acrisure’s inclusion on the list.

A website isn’t needed to tell Steelers fans about the most hallowed site in the NFL. North Shore visitors can touch the footprints where Franco Harris caught the Immaculate Reception at since-demolished Three Rivers Stadium adjacent to the present stadium. But that’s a story for All Saints Day.