Pitt Stadium appears doomed

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Pitt Stadium appears doomed

Chancellor instructs architects to study uses for site of football field

Thursday, March 04, 1999

By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

In the clearest signal yet that Pitt Stadium's days are numbered, Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg says the facility is "no longer an asset to the football program" and is no longer competitive with stadiums at other major universities.

Nordenberg issued a three-page letter yesterday to students, faculty and staff detailing, for the first time, his concerns about the serious inadequacies of the football stadium, which opened in 1925.

While saying no final decision had been reached on the future of the stadium, he said he had instructed Pitt architects to think of what could be built on the 10 acres of "prime space in the middle of an urban campus" where the stadium now sits.

Nordenberg said the current situation was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the quality of campus life, particularly for our students, 365 days a year and not just on six football Saturdays."

Despite the "memorable moments" from many games played at Pitt Stadium, he said, "the facility itself is no longer an asset to the football program. Instead, by virtually any standard of measure, it is no longer 'in the same league' as the stadiums of our competitors, whether measured by the impressions of recruits or the expectations of fans."

The chancellor said Pitt football games, compared with those at many other schools, "are not well attended." He said that while there were "loyal supporters" who saw the stadium's age as part of its charm, "Unfortunately, they are not, and never have been, a very large group."

Nordenberg said fans who did attend games "not only miss out on the amenities that have become customary in most modern stadiums but must struggle for access to even basic facilities," such as concession stands and restrooms.

These ideas are being considered for the Pitt Stadium site:

Moving the proposed $69 million convocation center and basketball arena from the previously announced, "comparatively inaccessible" site at the top of the hill to a location closer to the "heart of campus." Putting it where the stadium now is, he said, would increase its "attractiveness for all types of events and increase the likelihood that it will become one of the centers of campus life."

Providing space within the new convocation center for a "major recreation center to be used by the general student population," something that isn't possible if the building has to be wedged in at the site on the top of the hill.

?Substantially reducing, "if not totally eliminating," the concerns that Oakland residents have about parking and traffic problems caused by the new 12,500-seat basketball arena.

Freeing up space where the stadium now sits "to construct virtually all of the additional on-campus student housing that we project we will need." This will also allow the university to comply with a longstanding desire of the community to put student dorms on campus rather than within the nearby neighborhoods, he said.

?Keeping "a significant portion" of the stadium site "open and green," as well as creating "a badly needed link between our upper and lower campuses."

Reached in New York City before Pitt's game in the Big East basketball tournament began last night, Nordenberg said Pitt would play at Pitt Stadium next year.

He said that when work began on the convocation center "depends on our evaluation of these [stadium] plans."

Whatever is done, Nordenberg said in his letter, will have "a very positive, substantial and lasting effect on the university." He said additional information would be provided "when it is possible and appropriate to do so."

Pitt and Steelers officials have admitted they are talking about having Pitt play in the Steelers' new 65,000-seat, $233 million stadium to be built on the North Shore. Construction of that facility is to start by July 1.

"We'd love to have them," Steelers President Dan Rooney said Friday. But neither side has said when a decision on that issue would be made.

Nordenberg last night said: "One of the things that make this whole thing attractive is the way in which the Rooney family manages its business and has been such a committed citizen of the region. The issue we have to face is, how many sports facilities the people of the region can support."

In his letter, Nordenberg said he was aware that the talk of moving Pitt football to "the world-class facility soon to be built on the North Side would prompt a negative response, grounded principally in emotion, from some."

He said he and others in the administration "know those feelings well, and they have been a constant point of reference in our discussions.

"At the same time, we cannot responsibly permit those feelings, however understandable and well-intentioned, to pre-empt our reasoned evaluation of other relevant considerations."

The letter Nordenberg sent out yesterday is called a "campus update." A Pitt spokesman said such letters were issued from time to time - whenever the chancellor "has something important to talk to people about."