PITTSBURGH \u2014 Twenty-five years ago this week, the Steelers played their final game at Three Rivers Stadium, leading to a new era for the city of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
Weeks later, Three Rivers Stadium was imploded.<\/p>\n
From the rubble grew the beginning of a new North Shore, leading to the incredible destination neighborhood we now have.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really hardly a day in the year that goes by that there\u2019s not some event taking place at one of the stadiums or Stage AE, and it\u2019s been great to see,\u201d Steelers owner and President Art Rooney II said.<\/p>\n
But of course, that didn\u2019t used to be the case on the north shore. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe North Shore was basically a junkyard on both sides of the bridge. When you got over there, it was like old tanks and jeeps from World War II laying around in a junkyard,\u201d Tooney said.<\/p>\n
All of the immaculate moments that took place at Three Rivers Stadium over its 31-year history are forever etched in Rooney\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n
It was a bittersweet goodbye to the stadium that brought the Steelers franchise four Super Bowl seasons in its first decade of existence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had such a great run there and so many great memories there. I always remember walking out the door for the last time,\u201d Rooney said. <\/p>\n
While Heinz Field was being built, preserving and celebrating the history of Three Rivers Stadium was key to both the Steelers and Pirates organizations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were kind of looking at the map and figured out that Gate D pylon was actually outside the footprint of Heinz Field, so we said, OK, let\u2019s try to keep that,\u201d Rooney said. \u201c…We love our history in Pittsburgh, and it\u2019s great that we\u2019ve been able to have so much recognition on the North Shore of what happened in the early days.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Rooney will never forget the changing of the guard, if you will, on a frigid February morning in 2001. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember vividly the day Three Rivers Stadium was imploded, 20 feet across from Heinz Field. I almost had to close my eyes because I wasn\u2019t sure what the impact was going to be on the new stadium. To walk in and see it open for the first time was really great.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t just about the stadiums for the organizations. It was a long-term commitment and investment to add to the former junkyard just across the river.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing Three Rivers being built, just the North Shore changing and becoming a place where the community visited often, it was a dramatic change, and now to see everything that\u2019s happened since Heinz Field and PNC Park went in, they\u2019ve been true catalysts for ongoing development,\u201d Rooney said.<\/p>\n
The area has some classic Steelers flair to boot.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, our fans love to tailgate and to show up very early for their tailgates,\u201d Rooney said. \u201cThat\u2019s really become one of the hallmarks of the North Shore now are the tailgates. There\u2019s some tailgate parties that have been going on when we opened the stadium that are still going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
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