NewsUSA pre-season tour: A guide to Acrisure Stadium

Arne Slot’s Reds face Spanish side Real Betis in a friendly fixture that kicks off at 7.30pm local time on Friday (12.30am BST on Saturday).

The 68,400-capacity Acrisure Stadium is home to the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh’s Panthers college team.

Construction of the arena – situated in the city’s North Shore area – began in 1999 and took a little over two years to complete, opening in 2001 as Heinz Field.

Sitting adjacent is PNC Park, which also opened in 2001 and serves as the home of Major League Baseball team Pittsburgh Pirates.

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These redevelopments at the turn of the millennium provided new facilities after three decades of use of the Three Rivers Stadium on the same site, which in turn followed on from Forbes Field, which had opened back in 1909.

Further improvements and expansions to the new venue have continued over the past 23 years, with Acrisure also agreeing a deal for naming rights in 2022.

Two of the Steelers’ six Super Bowl triumphs in history have been achieved since they began playing at the stadium (in 2006 and 2009).

Acrisure Stadium, like the Reds’ own Anfield, is also multi-purpose, hosting concerts, shows and other entertainment events in addition to sport.

Indeed, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour included two nights at Acrisure Stadium in June 2023 before arriving at Anfield for a three-night stay last month.

Other acts to have performed at the venue include Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones and U2, while previous club football friendlies there saw Manchester City face AC Milan and Benfica meet Borussia Dortmund.

The Steelers boast a locker room of 6,000 square feet, the Panthers’ is 4,600 square feet, and visiting teams have 2,600 square feet in which to get ready for game time.

The construction of the arena involved 48,000 cubic yards of concrete, 12,000 tons of steel, 30,000 gallons of paint, and 50,000 square feet of glass. The pitch at Acrisure Stadium is composed of Kentucky bluegrass.

For more information on Acrisure Stadium, go here.