Steelers Shed Round Three

The Pittsburgh Steelers football team is reviving its efforts to build an amphitheatre near Heinz Field but some officials say it’s too late.

The amphitheatre was expected to be part of a stadium project that would include housing and hotels, but it fell by the wayside twice. Six years after Heinz Field opened, developer Frank Kass now says the shed is a go.

"We’re ready to go on this," Kass told KDKA TV. "We have renderings, plans. I know there’s been some delays, but we’re back on track.

City officials including a board member, Steelers execs and Stadium Authority members recently went on a fact-finding mission to the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio, which has an indoor capacity of 2,300 and can seat about 4,500 outside. It is similar to what the Authority wants for the riverside tract near Heinz Field, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

However, state Rep. Jake Wheatley, a member of the Authority board, told the paper the Steelers lost their exclusive right to buy the land when Kass’ company, Continental Development, missed a series of deadlines between 2005 and 2007.

The Stadium Authority was created in 1964 to oversee construction of Three Rivers Stadium, the Tribune Review said. The five members of the board remain in control of several North Shore parcels despite Three Rivers’ demolition in 2001.