The Pittsburgh Steelers and Kraft Heinz have reached a five-year agreement to continue Heinz’s presence in Acirsure Stadium, according to a report by Mark Belko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
After Heinz could not secure the naming rights to the stadium, the ketchup bottles and Heinz signage were removed throughout the early portion of the week. With the new five-year deal, it appears that Heinz will keep the Heinz Red Zone sponsorship. That could constitute a potential return of a ketchup bottle for the representation. Of course, it is unlikely to be completely the same, but it could return.
It seems that this will go beyond just the red zone sponsorship as well. The company and the Steelers are planning to work on some concession stand with one another. That could expand the presence of the company within the stadium even as it lost out on naming rights.
Last week, Steelers team president Art Rooney II mentioned that he wanted to maintain a relationship with Heinz if it was at all possible. That could have included the ketchup bottles, though it is unlikely to be set up the same way. Still, the two sides have seemingly worked out a deal.
“Let me start by saying we appreciate the twenty-plus year relationship we had with Heinz and we are optimistic and hopeful that we will still continue to have a sponsorship relationship with them,” Rooney said. “We are having those discussions. Who knows, the ketchup bottles could be part of that, we’ll see.”
The exact details of the agreement seem to be under discussion. Still, this is a step to maintaining some of the ‘feel’ that Acrisure Stadium may have had to fans on the North Shore. There will be change, but it will not be wholescale.