It’s possible Sunday’s playoff game is the final contest of the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But it won’t be the last one at the facility that has been known for two decades as Heinz Field.
The Steelers and the Kraft Heinz Co. on Wednesday announced a one-year extension for the North Shore stadium’s naming rights. The original 20-year agreement was to expire at the conclusion of this football season.
“We have enjoyed a tremendous and beneficial partnership with The Kraft Heinz Co. since Heinz Field opened in 2001,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a news release.
No financial terms were released about sponsorship. According to the announcement of the original deal two decades ago, the then-H.J. Heinz Co. was to pay $57 million to the Steelers for the stadium naming rights. Since then, some professional sports teams have sold naming rights for many times more per year, albeit many are in bigger markets than Pittsburgh.
Heinz and Kraft merged in 2015, leading in part to speculation that the company would walk away from the stadium naming rights when the contract expired in 2021.
“Over the years, the partnership has been a win-win for the Steelers — one of the NFL’s most storied and popular teams — and for Kraft Heinz,” company CEO Miguel Patricio said in a statement. “Both the Steelers and the Heinz brand are synonymous with Pittsburgh.”
H.J. Heinz was founded in Pittsburgh in 1869, its North Side factory a fixture in the city for more than a century (the building since has been converted into apartments). Heinz ketchup long has been associated with Pittsburgh.
In addition to more than 200 Steelers games (including preseason and the playoffs), Heinz Field has served as the home for Pitt football since it opened. It hosted four WPIAL football championship games each year from 2001-19 and has been the site of about two dozen concerts, including nine of country artist Kenny Chesney.
Sunday’s Steelers wild-card round game against the Cleveland Browns will be the 14th postseason game played at Heinz Field.
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