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Not all of the home-team victories at Heinz Field are recorded by the athletes in black and gold. Sometimes the Pittsburgh Steelers get a win on their home field with the help of the legal system.
State Commonwealth Court recently upheld a lower court ruling that will allow the Steelers to paint the words "Heinz Field" on seats in the lower part of the stadium. The victory comes after a two-year legal battle between the team and the city's zoning board.
And the ruling comports with a similar and previous approval by the zoning board in another matter. More on that later.
Regarding the case at hand, in 2019, the Steelers first proposed painting the seats in the lower portion of the 68,000-seat stadium to spell out the name of the facility. The name would be visible in aerial views of the stadium and from areas throughout the city, including parts of Downtown and Mount Washington.
The city zoning administrator determined that painting the seats would amount to a sign that would be visible from outside the stadium and would require a variance.
The zoning board ruled that such a sign was not permitted under the zoning code, and the Steelers appealed to Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, which sided with the team.
The city then appealed to Commonwealth Court, which agreed that the Steelers could paint the name of the facility on the seats.
The city made the rather dubious argument that painting the seats on the inside of the stadium would amount to an exterior sign, since it would be visible from the outside. The court shot down that argument, saying the sign would be entirely inside Heinz Field.
The court ruling also noted that Highmark Stadium on the South Side, home to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer team, has the word "Hounds" spelled out in the seating area, something the zoning board approved in 2012.
Promoting the name of the facility makes sense from a marketing standpoint for the Steelers. Heinz Field has people in the stands for home games for the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers, as well as the occasional concert.
But most of the time the seating area is empty, so why not use the empty seats to identify the facility in photos or videos of the city?
Is that any different than the Pittsburgh Pirates cutting the words PNC Park into the outfield grass when it is mowed, or the Steelers and Pitt Panthers having their names and logos painted in the Heinz Field end zones? No.
It was a waste of time and tax dollars for the city zoning board to have dragged this matter into court. Another appeal still could be launched in this case.
Victory should be ceded to the Steelers, and the city should move on to more important issues.