Hey Guys;

i'm writing with an honest question about Heinz field. The posters at Bearcat Banter are debating the value of an NFL facility (Paul Brown Stadium) vs. on-campus venue (Nippert Stadium). In a recent Mike DeCourcy article, he cited Heinz field as an example of how playing at a pro stadium can help a program. A couple of questions:

1) For those that can comment on the former on-campus venue vs. the experience at Heinze Field, are you pro Heinze or anti-Heinze and why?

2) Can you offer attendance figures and if playing at Heinze field, in your opinion, helps attendance/game day experience or hurts

Appreciate the feedback.

I honestly think Cincinnati has the best of both worlds. You play games against Temple and UConn in Nippert, and then Oklahoma in Paul Brown. Even if Pitt averages 55K that's still 10K or empty seats a week. I'm unsure if playing in Heinz really helps out w/ recruiting or not. I think our South Side facilities attracts recruits more than Heinz. I tend to think if Pitt played in a 50K Stadium the atmosphere would be so much better and then games against ND, PSU, FSU, and Clemson at Heinz would be the way to go.

(12-11-2012 11:43 PM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  I honestly think Cincinnati has the best of both worlds. You play games against Temple and UConn in Nippert, and then Oklahoma in Paul Brown. Even if Pitt averages 55K that's still 10K or empty seats a week. I'm unsure if playing in Heinz really helps out w/ recruiting or not. I think our South Side facilities attracts recruits more than Heinz. I tend to think if Pitt played in a 50K Stadium the atmosphere would be so much better and then games against ND, PSU, FSU, and Clemson at Heinz would be the way to go.

The thing for us that is making it really difficult to play at Paul Brown stadium is that it's such a financial loser because of the county's lease agreement with Mike Brown and family. Even when we do turn a profit on it, it's marginal. thanks for the input.

For schools that are in urban areas, it's difficult to have an on campus facility. Once Pitt Stadium was torn down and the Petersen Center placed on the grounds, there was really no going back to an on campus facility. I'm not crazy about this setup to be honest.

I never attended a game at Pitt Stadium. I attended Pitt from 2008-2011 and had season tickets for those seasons at Heinz Field.

Heinz Field is an OK venue for a college football game. I've seen some pretty good atmospheres there - namely the 2009 Cincinnati game. For a lot of games, though, the atmosphere is lacking. Pitt can't reproduce the atmosphere of a Steelers game and in Pittsburgh that's really the benchmark. Being at an NFL stadium comes with some downside; everyone gets searched before they are let into the game and the staff is the same as the staff for the NFL games. The field isn't painted as nicely as it could be if we had our own stadium somewhere because it needs to be close to what the Steelers do.

Another thing, and I think this is the big one, is not being on campus means that it's harder for students to get to the game and also that visitors may not take the time to get to Oakland to see our campus. If the stadium were in Oakland, these two things would make for a better experience.

(12-12-2012 12:51 PM)ndlutz Wrote:  For schools that are in urban areas, it's difficult to have an on campus facility. Once Pitt Stadium was torn down and the Petersen Center placed on the grounds, there was really no going back to an on campus facility. I'm not crazy about this setup to be honest.

I never attended a game at Pitt Stadium. I attended Pitt from 2008-2011 and had season tickets for those seasons at Heinz Field.

Heinz Field is an OK venue for a college football game. I've seen some pretty good atmospheres there - namely the 2009 Cincinnati game. For a lot of games, though, the atmosphere is lacking. Pitt can't reproduce the atmosphere of a Steelers game and in Pittsburgh that's really the benchmark. Being at an NFL stadium comes with some downside; everyone gets searched before they are let into the game and the staff is the same as the staff for the NFL games. The field isn't painted as nicely as it could be if we had our own stadium somewhere because it needs to be close to what the Steelers do.

Another thing, and I think this is the big one, is not being on campus means that it's harder for students to get to the game and also that visitors may not take the time to get to Oakland to see our campus. If the stadium were in Oakland, these two things would make for a better experience.

Appreciate the response ndlutz. Cincy's game day experience at Nippert presents some challenges but your comment about students getting to Heinz field is reflected in Cincy's experience going to PBS generally. What is the distance between Heinz field and Pitt's campus?

I believe it is 3 miles or less to get to Heinz Field. There is a system for the students to be bussed from Oakland (where the campus is located) to Heinz Field but I never used it so I can't speak to the efficiency of it.

Our AD can still suck a wet fart outta my butt for moving Pitt off campus!