Steelers to play in front of opposing fans for 1st time in coming weeks
It’s late October, and the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t yet played two road games. It’s been six weeks since they played in a venue that was not Heinz Field, and they’ve yet to play at all as a visitor in a stadium that had any fans.
Things will change Sunday during the AFC showdown between the Steelers and Tennessee Titans. Nashville’s Nissan Stadium is operating at 10% of capacity, meaning about 6,900 fans were allowed in for two earlier Titans home games this month.
“To play this game and have fans is always great,” defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt said. “It brings the energy. Just to have fans … it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Steelers’ lone road game this season — the Sept. 14 opener against the New York Giants — was played in a MetLife Stadium devoid of fans, per the policy of the government of the state of New Jersey in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday’s game was re-scheduled from Oct. 4. It was postponed after a handful of players and other members of the Tennessee organization tested positive for coronavirus.
The Steelers, too, were given permission from Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf to allow a limited number of fans at home games this month. While the two September games at Heinz Field were off-limits to fans, up to 5,500 were let in for games this month against the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns.
Statement from the Ravens on hosting fans at M&T Bank Stadium. pic.twitter.com/VcwibTYNZH
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 23, 2020
The Steelers are embarking on a stretch of three consecutive road games — all three will feature fans. The Nov. 1 game at Baltimore will be the Ravens’ first of the season with fans, the team announced Friday. About 4,000 tickets will be sold at M&T Bank Stadium for a game in which the winner will claim first place in the AFC North.
The Ravens say no fans will be in the upper level, 3,000 will sit in the lower bowl, 800 in the club level and an unspecified number of fans will be in suites.
The Steelers’ Nov. 8 game at the Dallas Cowboys will have about 25,000 fans at AT&T Stadium, judging by the three previous Cowboys home games at the 80,000-seat venue.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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