Shaded Seats at Acrisure Stadium

What You Need to Know About Shade at Acrisure Stadium

Located at the confluence of the three rivers on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, Acrisure Stadium (still referred to by ‘Yinzers as Heinz Field) is the open-air home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Opened in 2001, the stadium was intentionally designed with an open south end zone to give fans an unobstructed, panoramic view of the downtown Pittsburgh skyline and the historic Fort Duquesne Bridge.

While this open-bowl architecture makes for beautiful scenery, it leaves the field highly exposed to the elements, making strategic seating choice underneath the sideline canopy or behind the home bench essential for staying cool during early autumn games.

The West Sideline Is Best For Shade

The northwest-to-southeast orientation of the stadium means the sun tracks behind the home side toward the evening. Because of this, you want to prioritize the west sideline and covered seating.

• Sections 528 – 541: Booking tickets in the upper west deck guarantees you are among the first to escape the heat, thanks to the combined protection of the high stadium rim and the overhanging roof canopy.

• Sections 129 – 141: The back rows of the lower home bowl get shielded by mid-to-late afternoon by the massive overhang of the club decks directly above.

• Sections 229 – 240: Tucking into the back rows of the 200-level ensures you catch the structural shadow cast by the upper deck framework long before the lower bowl.

• Sections 504 – 517: The very last rows on this section on the east side will get shade from the stadium structure and lighting.

Late Afternoon And Evening

As a 1:00 PM kickoff heads into the 4th quarter or a late afternoon game gets underway, the sun drops low into the western sky.

The shadow from the massive west grandstand quickly sweeps across the field, completely blanketing the Steelers Sideline and the entire lower bowl in cooling shade.

While the lower rows on the east sideline eventually start to get relief from the ground up as the stadium shadow stretches across the turf, the upper tiers of the east side will remain trapped in a harsh, face-forward glare right up until twilight, making sunglasses an absolute requirement.