12,000 tons of steel welcome NFL teams – along with a wave of Terrible Towels – every time they come to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. But a lot has changed since the Steelers hosted their first home game here in 2001. With many franchises now moving to bigger and better stadiums, could the Steelers uproot themselves from the North Shore neighborhood?

That’s the question Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor faced when he sat down for an interview recently, posted by oneBURGH on Instagram. The mayor shut it down with “I don’t think the Steelers have any plans of leaving.” But when asked about it again, he highlighted something that needs to change.

“Pittsburgh, the Steelers are in the city. As long as I’m here, we’ll always have them in the city,” Mayor O’Connor said. “The reality is both stadiums (Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park) need upgrades. We think of them as brand new when they’re getting old at this point. So, I think to compete, we’re gonna have to have those conversations long term with the Steelers and the Pirates.”

Last October, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers had called the field in Acrisure “borderline unplayable” when the Steelers hosted the Cleveland Browns for their Week 6 clash. Players on both sides complained about the field’s conditions. The NFLPA heard it, relayed it to the NFL, and the Steelers ultimately got new sod installed. But that’s just one of the issues people have faced at Acrisure.

About four years ago, fan complaints ranged from anywhere between a lack of ushers to chain-link fences at the gates causing congestion. Many also complained about the sea of bright gold seats standing out on TV. But over the past years, there have been a lot of improvements in these regards.

The biggest upgrades to the stadium came in 2023, when the Steelers addressed a majority of complaints. New security screening technologies made entering the stadium easier, complete with pedestal scanners. Graphics updates on the scoreboard, Next Gen Stats, and even a commercial clock (to let fans know how long it’d take for the live game to begin after network TV timeouts), were just a few of the many things they added. And this offseason, the Steelers went above and beyond to provide a new fan experience.

As Pittsburgh hosted the 2026 NFL Draft, the city approved nearly multi-million-dollar projects to revamp the city’s Golden Triangle and North Shore. As for the stadium itself, the Steelers have opted to add streaks of black seats amid the sea of yellow because a few patches of empty seats used to make it look like the stadium wasn’t full.

The Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County approved an initial $6.2 million last October to begin working on better seating through Hussey Seating Company. About 59,000 seats will be replaced by 2028, with the total cost of the renovation estimated to be around $17.8 million.

With so many investments already in the books for Acrisure, it’s no wonder Mayor Corey O’Conney doesn’t want the Steelers to go anywhere else as long as he’s around. But more upgrades are certainly needed, and those are conversations the Rooney family needs to be open to for bringing the best football experience to Pittsburgh.