It was a cold Sunday, Feb. 11 20 years ago that a demolition crew reduced Three Rivers Stadium to a heap of rubble and twisted steel. Pittsburgh Jazz Festival Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, Walt Harper, Roland Kirk, David Newman, and Herbie Mann. A proposal for a new sports stadium in Pittsburgh was first made in 1948; however, plans did not attract much attention until the late 1950s. Free shipping for many products! Almost as surprisingly, the fans returneddrawing over two million in both 1990 and 1991, the only two times they would reach the figure at Three Rivers. Official fundraiser page for Pittsburgh Baseball HISTORY TRAIL, THREE RIVERS STADIUM HOME PLATE and Informational Marker As the development of the land. While Three Rivers was receiving its late prepping up as the fight over whether to build a new ballpark continued, the area surrounding the stadium remained dormant, a head-shaking lack of mixed-use development promised by the stadium authority decades earlier. On Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001, with the temperature just 21 degrees, more than 20,000 people filled Point State Park to watch the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium. It also featured a Pirates Hall of Fame which, at one stage, included wax figures of Honus Wagner, Pie Traynor and Roberto Clemente wearing the uniforms of their times. In 2011, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that the Three Rivers Stadium website was still active, 11 years after the facility's demolition. Three Rivers Stadium stood alone, literally, as another cookie cutter, or concrete donut, or bowl. Have a comment, question or request? Perhaps a live ball was helping to bring the fans in; Three Rivers yielded a stadium-record 171 home runs in 1999then 172 in 2000. With both facilities have come collateral development only dreamed about a half-century earlier, with a modern mix of parking, dining, business and green space; per example, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has relocated its headquarters right at the point where Three Rivers southeast (Gate C) entrance was once located. The look of the stadium, meanwhile, would be the responsibility of Deeter Ritchey Sipple (DRS), which drew up the beautiful downtown plaza Mellon Square and the highly acclaimed Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, the first sports structure with a retractable roof. Despite its ultimate reputation as a mundane hunk of concrete, Three Rivers Stadium did spark some personality with its exclusive Allegheny Club, located in the second level down the right-field line. names for church food ministry three rivers stadium home plate location. In the 1971 World Series, Three Rivers Stadium hosted the first World Series game played at night. When the dust settled, the remains were visible. Phil Hundley, a Deeter Ritchey Sipple architect who was not intricately involved in the Three Rivers Stadium project but was around in 2020 to talk about it, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It had retail. Three Rivers Stadium Fun Facts: Opened in 1971 with a seating capacity of 59,000 for football. Tony Perez hit the stadiums first home run, and scored the game-winner in the top of the ninth on Lee Mays single. 'A cloud of dust went up and Three Rivers Stadium came - pennlive Three Rivers Stadium Home Venues Rock Doo Wop Radio Jazz Pop Blues Thirty Years of Stadium Rock Three Rivers Stadium during its short 30 year existence from 1970 to 2000 hosted almost 50. The Pittsburgh Steelers played their first game in Three Rivers Stadium on September 20, 1970a 19-7 loss to the Houston Oilers. Three Rivers Stadium | Facebook . The charges detonated in rapid sequence, and the walls tumbled. 2023 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved. [6] The stadium opened on July 16, 1970, when the Pirates played their first game there. They received the honor of hosting the very last event at Three Rivers, easily dispensing of the Washington Redskins, 24-3. Yet in the 1970s, Three Rivers Stadium was a super bowl, literally so for the Steelerswho went on to conquer four National Football League titles in their first 10 years playing at the stadium. Aerial view of Three Rivers Stadium | Historic Pittsburgh It had hotels. Despite polls which showed that the public was opposed to this plan as well, on February 3, 1999, the state funding portion of "Plan B" passed the Pennsylvania State House and Senate, clearing the way for construction. After the initial 10-year contract expired, Heinz Field contracted with Pepsi for exclusive pouring rights, breaking a 50-year tradition with the Steelers. [34] Throughout their 31seasons in Three Rivers Stadium, the Steelers posted a record of 18272, including a 13-5 playoff record, and defeated every visiting franchise at least once from the stadium's opening to close, enjoying perfect records there against seven teams. Three Rivers Stadium (demolished) - Virtual Globetrotting Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. Contact us at This Great Game. However, the ushers' union declined the uniform change for female workers. They could even look to the outside and see downtown, the three rivers and the hills beyond. The Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers Stadium [26][27] The team donned new uniform designs for the first time that day, a similar plan was for new "mini-skirts" for female ushers. If the Pittsburgh Pirates sense that theyre being ignored by their faithful at PNC Park, they shouldnt take it personally; after all, the teams only competition isnt sitting in the visitors dugout. Providing the infrastructural design was Michael Baker International, a fast-growing firm which had a hand in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Seattle Space Needle, and Pittsburgh International Airport, among many other projects around the planet. Youre in a bowl.. [17] As well, its location made it hard to reach from much of the city, with traffic congestion before and after games. Yes, Three Rivers Stadium was another one of those venues people now love to hate: A perfectly circular hunk of concrete largely adorned with slightly angled spectator ramps perfectly spaced between four large welcoming gates. Wehner went into detail as to just how he got that baseball back. The final Pittsburgh Steelers home game was played on December 16th, 2000 vs. the Washington Redskins. Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000.It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).. In the summer of 1998, Three Rivers Stadium receive its death sentence with the approval of PNC Park and Heinz Field, side-by-side facilities built exclusively for the Pirates and Steelers, respectively. Three Rivers Stadium Home Plate Location. [67] On September 30, 1972, Pirates' right-fielder Roberto Clemente got his 3,000th hit at Three Rivers Stadium, three months before his death. They played there in the following games: Three Rivers Stadium opened on July 16, 1970, but the Pirates lost 32 to the Cincinnati Reds in front of 48,846spectators. One silver lining to perhaps emerge from the Pirates lack of fans during the 1980s is that there were fewer of them to abuse the players. olivia tampa dress code; hydroponic farm names; . Among visiting players at Three Rivers, the Phillies Mike Schmidt hit the most home runs with 25including his 500th career round-tripper in 1987. Crowds of spectators gathered to witness the end of an era. Three Rivers Stadium | Baseball Wiki | Fandom Architect Dahlen Ritcheys early, dreamy rendition of Three Rivers Stadium consisted most notably of an open view of the Allegheny River and downtown Pittsburgh beyond. Deciding the where was the easy part; little debate was spent on the choice to place a new stadium across from downtown on the north side of the Allegheny, an ugly hodgepodge of industrial blight strewn with abandoned warehouses and neglected trainyards. There was some old-timey substance to the proceedings, as 71-year-old Pirates legend Pie Traynor threw out the ceremonial first pitch; Hollywood crooner and long-time Bucs fan/part-owner Bing Crosby was among the notables in the VIP section. Initially, the grounds crew wore #3 on their backs to represent the three rivers. It was a cold Sunday, Feb.. [47][48] On October 1, 2000, the Pirates were defeated 109 by the Chicago Cubs in their final game at Three Rivers Stadium. At the time, the stadium still had a debt of just less than . He was forced to go back to the drawing board when construction bids to realize his design were $10 million over budget. The Ballparks: PNC Park If the Pittsburgh Pirates sense that theyre being ignored by their faithful at PNC Park, they shouldnt take it personally; after all, the teams only competition isnt sitting in the visitors dugout. Three Rivers Stadium Concert History - Concert Archives Both the Pirates and Steelers won it all that year, capping a sensational first decade at Three Rivers Stadium in which both teams combined for six championship titles (Sports Illustrated). Three Rivers Stadium (sometimes referred to simply as 3RS or "TRS") was a multipurpose sports stadium and event facility located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The Steelers would lose the following week at Three Rivers to the Miami Dolphinson their way to being the first undefeated team in the Super Bowl erabut the Steelers permanently shed their loser image, beginning a brilliant run of football that would net them four Super Bowl trophies over a six-year period. The Pirates move to Three Rivers Stadium failed to domesticate the base. It was named in February 1969 for its location at the confluence of the Allegheny and . Fans embraced the Steelers in a way never felt by the Pirates; blue-collar fans somehow scraped up enough cash to fill the joint over and over againfrom 1972 on, the Steelers sold out every game at Three Riversand formed rabid fan groups celebrating players from Franco Harris to placekicker Roy Gerela. Five years after local authorities said yes to a new stadium, there wasnt even a scope of work; the Fort Duquesne Bridge, conceptualized specifically to carry auto traffic from downtown Pittsburgh toward the stadium, was 90% completewith the last 10% on hold until there was actual progress on the facility. On a chilly February morning in 2001, over 20,000 people picked out vantage points at a safe distance to watch Three Rivers Stadium implode to the ground, leaving a cloud of dust that drifted upon the Allegheny like a creeping fog bank. [15][18], Ground was broken in 1968 on April 25,[15][19][20] and due to the Steelers' suggestions, the design was changed to enclose centerfield. [11] As part of the deal, the university leased Forbes back to the Pirates until a replacement could be built. Underneath the big furry costume was Kevin Koch, the Pirate Parrots first portrayerand, as it would infamously be revealed, a cocaine user and middleman between dealers and ballplayers in both clubhouses. Three Rivers Stadium implosion seen from Point State Park on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001. But the debt needed to be paid and the crowds, as misbehaved as they often were, were massive. There was exactly one good thing about Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Essentially, Ritchey envisioned PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) four decades before they were built. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, County of Allegheny Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Southwestern Pennsylvania World War II Memorial. When 70,000 peoplemany without ticketsattempted to force their way into a 1976 concert featuring ZZ Top and Aerosmith, leading to an injury count of at least 250, public officials debated whether to end rock music acts at Three Rivers. The Steelers would move to Heinz Field after it was closed.[73].