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One of the smallest venues in the NFL is about to get a little bigger.
In a statement released to Steelers.com, team president Art Rooney II expressed excitement over the new addition, "We are pleased that an agreement with the SEA has been reached that will allow for the expansion of Heinz Field in the South Plaza. With the new general reserved seats, club seats and new high-definition scoreboard, we believe these additions will play an important part in making sure Heinz Field continues to be a state-of-the-art facility for our fans.
"With approximately 3,000 new seats being added, we will be able to provide many of our Waiting List fans the opportunity to become season ticket holders."
This sounds great, and of course more fans getting the opportunity to go cheer on the black and gold in person is always a good thing, but don't think for a second this is about the fans. No, this is about the money. Since Heinz Field is one of the smallest NFL stadiums, that also means that the revenue brought in during games is one of the smallest.
Compared to the megatron built by Jerry Jones in Dallas that seats over 100,000, Heinz Field holds a modest 65,050 paying customers. This expansion will allow 3,000 more members of SteelerNation pony up the money for personal seat licenses and the Steelers will benefit from the revenue.
This isn't the only upgrade to Heinz Field as the team has also begun putting another jumbotron on the closed end of the field. All in attempts to "keep up with the jones'".