25 years ago today, Three Rivers Stadium on Pittsburgh’s North Shore was reduced to a pile of rubble to make way for Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park.
On a cold winter morning in 2001, Three Rivers Stadium was demolished using thousands of pounds of explosives as the new home of the Pittsburgh Steelers was under construction and sat less than 100 feet away.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Point State Park to watch the demolition with additional people high atop Mt. Washington watching from above the city’s North Shore.
PITTSBURGH, UNITED STATES: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is demolished by implosion, 11 February, 2001. Three Rivers opened in 1970 at a cost of 36 million USD and was home to the Pittsburgh Steelers football team and the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. The teams will use separate stadiums under construction nearby on the city’s North Shore.
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The stadium, which opened in 1970, was the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pittsburgh Pirates for over 30 years.
On December, 23, 1972, Franco Harris shocked the sports world when he scored a game-winning touchdown in the playoffs against the Oakland Raiders, later dubbed as “The Immaculate Reception.”
Harris was mobbed by fans on the field at Three Rivers Stadium after scoring the iconic touchdown that sent the Steelers to the AFC Championship game.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back Franco Harris is mobed by fans at Three Rivers Stadium after scoring the winning touchdown, nicknamed the “Immaculate Reception,” during the American Football Conference (AFC) semi-final game against Oakland. Harris made the touchdown, one of the most famous single plays in the history of professional American football, on a tipped pass from quarterback Terry Bradshaw to Frenchy Fuqua to Harris for the score in the fourth quarter in Pittsburgh.
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Throughout its history on Pittsburgh’s North Shore as the home of the Steelers, Three Rivers Stadium hosted multiple AFC Championship games and sold out every game for the team from 1972 until the stadium closed. Acrisure Stadium, which was known as Heinz Field at the time, opened in 2001.
Pitt’s football team also played its home games at the stadium in 2000 after Pitt Stadium in Oakland was demolished.
Three Rivers Stadium, while the home of the Pirates, also played host to the World Series in 1971 and 1979 and hosted Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in 1974 and 1994.
Baseball: Aerial overall view of Three Rivers Stadium with some empty seats during Pittsburgh Pirates vs Montreal Expos game. Cincinnati, OH 4/27/1995 CREDIT: David Liam Kyle (Photo by David Liam Kyle /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X48203 )
David Liam Kyle
Once the stadium was demolished, the Pirates moved down the North Shore to the newly-built PNC Park, which opened in 2001.
In addition to being known as the home of the Steelers and the Pirates, Three Rivers Stadium also hosted numerous concerts throughout its history including shows by Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen.