Court Rules in Favor of Steelers in Heinz Field Paint Battle
For two years, the Steelers have been tangled up in legal issues while trying to obtain permission to paint Heinz Field on lower bowl seats in the 68,000 seat stadium.
Despite sounding harmless on the surface, the city zoning administrator argued that doing so would be classified as an exterior sign. With that being the case, the Steelers would need proper zoning approval to go ahead with the decision. Other groups were against the action as well due to the visibility of the painted seats from other areas surrounding the stadium.
After the Pittsburgh Zoning Board ruled against the Steelers, the team won an appeal to the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court in February of last year. Then, it was the city that appealed to the state Commonwealth Court, which ruled in favor of the Steelers earlier this week.
Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter cited that logos could be seen from within the stadium already and noted that ‘Hounds’ is painted on the seats inside of Highmark Stadium, which received the necessary zoning approval.
There is no word as to whether or not the city will appeal this decision.
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