Pittsburgh’s Sports and Exhibition Authority has settled a yearslong dispute over whether it should have to pay for a costly upgrade to the scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium.
The authority agreed to pay $850,000 to PSSI Stadium LLC, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The disagreement began when PSSI upgraded the scoreboard at the stadium then known as Heinz Field before the 2018 NFL season began.
PSSI and the Sports and Exhibition Authority have since been at odds over who should foot the $3 million bill for the improvements, which included expanding the size of the video scoreboard from 30 feet by 95 feet to 41 feet by 124 feet.
An arbitrator sided with PSSI, spurring the Sports and Exhibition Authority to reach the $850,000 settlement. PSSI had initially sought $1.2 million, then lowered that number to just over $964,000.
The authority gave its authorization for the pricey scoreboard improvements before PSSI made the upgrades, according to records from the lawsuit.
The Sports and Exhibition Authority owns the stadium and leases it to PSSI.
PSSI believed the authority would reimburse them for the costs of the scoreboard enhancements, but the authority agreed to pay only $1.846 million.
A clause in the lease agreement requires the authority to pay for “major repairs of components to the communication system and the scoreboard,” but the authority argued these improvements didn’t qualify as eligible repairs.
Sports and Exhibition Authority Executive Director Aaron Waller on Tuesday said the authority is “still not admitting any liability” with its settlement.
The SEA, he said, “thought it was in our best interest to move forward” and agree to a settlement after arbitrator Gary Caruso found the SEA was obligated to pay for the improvements.
“It would be in the public’s best interest to reach this mutually agreeable settlement so it would limit the SEA’s risk of liability,” Waller said.
“We’re glad it’s over and we’re happy to be moving forward,” an Acrisure Stadium spokesperson said in a statement.
The money comes from the Acrisure Capital Fund, formerly referred to as the Heinz Field Capital Reserve Fund. The fund is largely comprised of money collected through surcharges on tickets sold for events at the North Shore venue.
“Hopefully we won’t have these situations occur in the future,” Waller said.
