Is Heinz Field really set in concrete?
Is Heinz Field the victim of the Terrible Trowel?
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority filed a lawsuit Wednesday against five contractors and suppliers, alleging systemic failure of the expansion joints installed throughout Heinz Field. The joints -- composed of chemical adhesives, waterproof membranes, insulation packing and metal -- are designed to expand and contract as the stadium heats and cools, preserving the concrete slabs that form the bulkheads and passageways.
"We feel the stadium is safe for all of our fans," said Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett. "But we can't comment on pending litigation."
The lawsuit filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court named as defendants two contractors -- Wyatt, Inc. of Robinson and Western Waterproofing Co. of Broadview Heights, Ohio -- and three large manufacturers of the sealants and joints, Dow Corning Corp., Degussa Construction Chemicals and its subsidiary Watson Bowman Acme Corp.
The companies declined to comment on the lawsuit, which doesn't specify a cost to revamp the expansion joints.
"We have yet to see the lawsuit," said Dow Corning spokeswoman Mary Lou Benecke. "But if there is litigation pending, we cannot comment on that."
The Steelers have leased the $281 million stadium from the SEA since 2001, when the team moved from the 30-year-old Three Rivers complex.
Shortly before the stadium opened to great fanfare, workers from the Steelers and the authority discovered that rubber covers manufactured by Watson Bowman to prevent water damage "were defective and failing, thus compromising the integrity of the expansion joint system," the complaint states.
After the Steelers' season ended in 2002, the company that installed the joints, Western Waterproofing, and Watson Bowman returned to replace the "defective" rubber covers, according to the lawsuit. But the replacement joints also began failing after the 2003 season, when "leaks began appearing."
The lawsuit contends that Watson Bowman's seals were "delaminating," with the metal separating from the rubber, and the critical silicone membrane on Dow's parts began "tearing" and "losing its bond and coming loose" from the concrete slabs.
The Steelers and SEA contend they were told during the 2004 season that the Dow parts were "defective" and would need to be replaced. Both parties, however, singled out the work done by Wyatt, Inc., the primary contractor on that part of the project. They claim Wyatt agreed in a change order during construction to guarantee the work of sub-contractors and suppliers, and said the finished product would be "free from defects."
According to county records of major construction contracts, Wyatt collected nearly $8.4 million to supervise the installation of drywall, and acoustic and fireproof material at the stadium. Western Waterproofing was paid another $906,840. Taxpayers carried more than 80 percent of the total construction costs.
The Steelers are represented by attorney Charles B. Gibbons of the Downtown firm Klett, Rooney, Lieber & Schorling. Mark R. Hornak of Buchanan Ingersoll is representing the SEA.
No trial date has been set.
