Report: Heinz Field to be Renamed, New Name to be Picked Soon

Heinz Field will be no more. The H.J. Heinz Company, which has owned the naming rights to the stadium since Heinz Field’s inception in 2001, will no longer own the naming rights moving forward, according to a report by Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 the Fan.

This is a monumental change for the Steelers and the iconic name of their stadium. With the rights now up for bidding, Fillipponi also revealed that the new name for the stadium could be announced as early as this upcoming week. As such, the Steelers will head into 2022 with a new name on their playing field for the first time in over two decades.

Back in February, Steelers owner Art Rooney II was optimistic that the Steelers and Heinz could extend the naming rights agreement. Now that it appears to have stalled, Pittsburgh will look elsewhere. The Steelers did extend their naming rights agreement for one year with Heinz after the 2020 season. However, a long-term agreement was never reached between the two parties.

There will likely be a rebranding of some sort to the stadium as well. On the scoreboard, there are two large ketchup bottles that adorn each side of the scoreboard. In addition, the Steelers often use these ketchup bottles for gimmicks, such as the red zone. With the naming rights being transferred elsewhere, it is possible that those will be removed as well.

Heinz Field is synonymous with the Steelers. It has almost become part of their brand on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. So, it will be a transition that fans and the team will have to get used to in the future.

There will tremendous competition for the Steelers naming rights to their stadium. Pittsburgh could look to keep some local flair with the new naming rights sponsor. Either way, there will be a significant change coming to the stadium in 2022 and beyond.

UPDATE: The stadium will now be known as Acrisure Stadium.