Success Stories - Heinz Field Signage

Preservation Pittsburgh took on the Steelers (!) when the naming rights to the new football stadium were sold to Heinz Corporation and their initial proposals for signage were presented to the Zoning Board of Adjustments.
Originally the signage was to be MUCH larger. Preservation Pittsburgh testified at the hearings in opposition to the signs as proposed and, with other concerned citizens, won a revised design using smaller signs. These are our comments:

We at Preservation Pittsburgh are concerned about the viewscapes of our city--in particular our most famous one which is the exit from Ft. Pitt Tunnel. As originally conceived, a visitor driving out of the tunnel would see the Point, the fountain if it was on, the rivers, and our signature skyscrapers, including the brilliantly designed PPG Plaza as well as other historic architecture. If permission is given to this proposal, they will see a stadium filled with glaring yellow seats and a bright red, interior-lit logo, --40 feet high -- that one sees on every condiment Heinz sells. It's not exactly a 40-foot bottle emptying ketchup onto a hotdog, but it's the next closest thing. Public recognition of this logo is exactly what corporations pay millions of dollars for--and we might remind the Zoning Board of Adjustments, that this advertising is a tax deduction for Heinz. We feel the unique aesthetic quality of this initial view of Pittsburgh should not be compromised so that Heinz can sell more ketchup. We at Preservation Pittsburgh recommend that the Zoning Board of Adjustment recognize these signs for what they are: namely, a 21st century update of billboards, that, if allowed to proliferate (since the eye is always drawn to the brightest object in its field of view), will constitute an escalating arms race of brighter and more dominating signage which detract from the beauty of our skylines and architecture.