NFL and MLB team on clock over $500m stadium leases as statement released amid renewal talks

The NFL Draft was a record-breaking reminder that Pittsburgh remains a sports mecca.

A ridiculous 805,000 people made their way down to Point State Park and Acrisure Stadium to watch as teams picked their stars of the future over the three-day event — even if the No. 1 pick was elsewhere.

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The crowd for Round 1 was a record-setting 320,000 people, as the draft proved an exciting — and accessible — experience.

Following what was undoubtedly a major win for the city, which unfolded in the shadow of the Steelers’ home field, Pittsburgh is back on the clock.

Steelers and Pirates chasing costly stadium renovations

The 30-year leases for Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are set to expire in 2030 and 2031.

According to the Beaver County Times, talks that could result in new long-term agreements, community benefits and much-needed funding for improvements to each facility, are already under way.

In an era of billion-dollar stadiums, any work could prove costly.

“There’s no doubt that the teams are looking for a lump sum to improve their stadiums,” said State Senator Wayne Fontana, who chairs the board of the Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA), which owns the stadiums.

A ‘lump sum’ for significant upgrades could run into the hundreds of millions for each stadium, based on what’s happening in other cities.

The Baltimore Ravens have recently embarked on a series of significant projects that will freshen up M&T Bank Stadium, with work set to cost $430 million.

Meanwhile Paycor Stadium, home to the Cincinnati Bengals, is undergoing a massive multi-year, $470m renovation.

Other NFL teams, like the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, are close to completing brand new buildings, while the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns have ambitious relocation projects of their own.

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The Steelers and Pirates will be going down the renovation route for their stadiums, which cost $281m and $216m to build respectively in 2001, and Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor has recently discussed what’s to come.

“They are both in need of some upgrades,” O’Connor said in an interview this month.

“We understand that.”

O’Connor told Pittsburgh’s Public Source that there should be ‘some discussion’ about the idea of public funding for stadium improvements, as it would be ‘beneficial to everybody.’

Sen. Fontana, meanwhile, is aware that local politicians will have to sit down with the Steelers and Pirates to work out new lease terms that could differ from the ones signed decades ago.

The Beaver County Times reports that the current lease requires the SEA to fund certain stadium upkeep projects through a fund backed by ticket surcharges.

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But with more expensive stadium technology and ballooning construction costs, Fontana believes that model is near a breaking point.

“How do you ensure there’s enough money… if you’re going to have a lease that requires the SEA to do certain maintenance obligations?” he asked.

“That’s a question you have to answer before you even negotiate.”

Renovations already under way at Acrisure Stadium

Fontana added that he doesn’t know how much political appetite exists to ‘divert large sums of taxpayer money to benefit privately owned sports teams’ — but admitted the Steelers and Pirates can point to other cities that have done just that.

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“If they had the appetite in Cleveland or Cincinnati or Las Vegas or wherever, then the question is why don’t we have the appetite, because of the economic impact that a team has,” he concluded.

Following the 2025 NFL season, the Steelers have already started to make improvements to Acrisure Stadium.

A new playing surface, Bermuda grass, will be installed. It’s said to be more weather resistant, and safer.

The move comes after the NFLPA score card ranked the Steelers’ field as the worst in the league.

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In October 2025, the SEA also approved the first phase of seat replacements, with 22,000 that have been in place since the stadium opened in 2001 to be replaced.

“We are always talking with our public partners as we look to maintain and improve the facility, and we will continue to do so,” PSSI Stadium, which manages Acrisure, said in a recent statement to the Beaver County Times.

“These facilities require constant care and attention to continue to remain competitive with other NFL venues and to continue to attract sporting events, concerts and other major events that have a significant economic impact on the region.”

Should a new lease be hammered out, more improvements could soon be announced for Acrisure, and at PNC Park, which stands alongside it on the North Shore, too.

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