Unless state orders change, Steelers won't sell tickets to public for home playoff opener
Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to allow time-limited mitigation orders to expire Monday won’t help the Steelers sell tickets for their home playoff game on the weekend of Jan. 9-10.
With the orders reverting back to Dec. 11 standards, the Steelers will be permitted to have 2,500 fans in attendance at Heinz Field.
The team announced Thursday that based on the Wolf administration’s decision, the Steelers are “preparing to restrict fans in the seating bowl to family and friends of players and the organization.”
The Steelers adopted that stance for home games on Dec. 2 against Baltimore and Dec. 7 against Washington. No fans were visible in outdoor seating for the Dec. 28 home finale against Indianapolis.
The Steelers said they will “continue to have dialogue with public health officials next week with the goal of possibly having increased capacity for our playoff game next weekend.”
“We will communicate with our season ticket holders and fans next week with clarification of whether we will be permitted to add more fans,” the Steelers added in their statement. “Our priority remains the health and safety of our players, coaches, staff, gameday workers and our fans as we navigate the pandemic during the 2020 season and playoffs.”
The Steelers allowed fans to buy tickets for three home games because of the state’s mitigation efforts for the coronavirus pandemic. The season-high attendance was 5,909 fans at the Nov. 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
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