Acrisure Stadium is in the middle of a major makeover, and the first sign is hard to miss: whole chunks of the upper decks are disappearing. Crews have kicked off a massive seat replacement project that is expected to swap out more than 58,000 of the venue’s roughly 68,000 chairs over nearly four years, at an estimated cost of about $18 million.
Drone 11 has already spotted the early action, with one section wrapped in a tarp and another stripped bare, according to WPXI. The outlet reports that work is underway in the east upper deck, where crews are pulling out old seats and prepping the concrete for new ones.
How the project was approved
This facelift has been in the works for months. In October, the Sports & Exhibition Authority signed off on roughly $6.2 million for the first phase, which calls for about 22,000 seats to be replaced over two years and sets a broader goal of refreshing nearly the entire bowl by 2028 for about $18 million, according to CBS News. Officials told local outlets the work would be spread out to avoid blowing up the events calendar while finally dealing with upkeep that has been delayed for years.
Why the replacement is happening
The push to start ripping out seats traces back to a facility assessment by engineering firm Stantec, which flagged ongoing issues with the original 2001 chairs. Inspectors found seats loosening from the concrete, rusted base plates, broken bolts, and some accessible seating that was either hard to reach or not working properly, according to the SportsBusiness Journal. SEA project executive Doug Straley told reporters that patching and repairing those problems has gotten tougher over time and that a full-scale replacement is the safest long-term play.
Fan impacts and Pitt's capacity change
Fans will feel some of these changes most clearly on college Saturdays. The University of Pittsburgh has already announced it will close the upper East and West decks for Panthers games in 2026, chopping capacity by nearly 17,000 seats and looking at tarps and potential advertising to cover those sections, according to Athletic Business. That plan lines up with the current work in the east upper deck, so fans heading to early-season events should not be surprised to see covered areas or empty concrete above the lower bowl.
Phasing, timetables and resale
Officials say the overhaul will be broken into stages to minimize interference with games and concerts, although specific installation windows and detailed seat maps have not yet been released. Local coverage notes that removed chairs will be sold through a distributor, and that the first batch of replacements is partly funded through capital reserves tied to ticket surcharges, according to Allegheny County Spotlight.
Team-affiliated outlets and social clips have shown workers tearing into the east upper deck earlier this month, capturing demolition and seat removal as it happens, according to Steelers Now. The stadium remains open for scheduled events, and operators say the phased strategy is meant to keep fans safe and maintain accessibility while the bowl gets a long-awaited refresh.
The new seats are expected to be manufactured by Maine-based Hussey Seating Company and will come with a 10-year warranty, as reported by SportsBusiness Journal. Fans and season-ticket holders with questions about relocations, resale opportunities, or timing are being urged to watch for phased schedules and ticketing updates from the Sports & Exhibition Authority and stadium operators.
