Heinz Field shows off its new closed-end look in south end zone

Heinz Field's south end zone is no longer open, but renovations to the North Shore football stadium have opened a new view of Pittsburgh for Steelers fans.

The first look came Sunday afternoon when the Steelers played the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game.

As part of a $37.4 million project that the team said has added about 2,700 seats, Heinz Field now has a connected lower bowl. Additions include five suites (each holding 20 people), 1,500 club seats and 1,000 general revenue seats.

But, as Steelers director of corporate partnerships and sales Ryan Huzjak said, “amenities are what fans expect.”

An open-air fan zone is accessible to all ticket holders. New concessions include Papa John's (pizza), Burgatory (burgers and shakes) and a stand serving various macaroni dishes. Also, a disc jockey will provide music before games.

An enclosed plaza is open to club and suite ticket holders. From inside, fans will be able to overlook Steelers players taking the field during pregame introductions. A cigar bar does not allow smoking during games, but it will be open for non-football events.

The real draw, though, may be a deck area behind the ketchup-bottled scoreboard. From it, fans are provided eye-level sight lines of Point State Park and into Downtown from across the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. Before the stadium renovations, those views were available only to fans standing on the two end-zone rotundas.

With the new seats, Heinz Field will hold a team-estimated 67,750 fans.

The improvements, which included a north end-zone video board that debuted last season, did not require use of public money. The Allegheny Regional Asset District has guaranteed a bond that will cover half of the cost, while seat licensing fees and other team revenue will cover the rest.

The Steelers will pay off the bond by 2030, using ticket revenue.

Rob Rossi is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at rrossi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @RobRossi_Trib.