New Items at Heinz Field

Will you be attending the first home game of the season this weekend? The Steelers take on the Bills and a new team is not the only thing new at Heinz Field. There are many new amenities that fans will get to enjoy this season. You can learn more here.






A new scoreboard, wifi, and new hamburger choices highlight the list of new features.


It’s not going to take Steelers fans long to notice what is new at Heinz Field for 2014, as the bright new scoreboard in the Northwest corner of the stadium is a beacon for diehard fans and hard for anyone to miss.

The Steelers installed the 35-foot by 73-foot high-definition scoreboard this offseason and it will thoroughly enhance the game day experience for fans, showing game highlights, statistics and scores from around the league, and visible to those who can’t easily see the scoreboard in the South Plaza.

The Heinz Field grass field looked lush and green, ready for football, and will be re-

sod midway through the 2014 season and after the WPIAL Championship games.

But that isn’t all that’s new this year, and fans will be able to enjoy all of it when the Steelers host the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Aug. 16 for their first home game of the year.

Additions to the Heinz Field food menu always get fan’s taste buds going and this year they will be able to enjoy incredible burgers on a stick and gourmet artesian sausages in the clubs and concourses, my favorite the carved turkey and pasta-stuffed meatballs in the clubs all prepared by Aramark and Burgatory sliders and milkshakes in the suites.

The highlight of the new menu is Aramark’s Emperor (Chuck Noll) Gourmet Burger on the main concourse, named for the legendary Steelers’ coach that passed away this offseason. And it got rave reviews from those who tasted it during the “What’s New at Heinz Field” tour on Tuesday. Fans will also be able to enjoy personal pan pizzas from Fox’s Pizza on the main concourse and the D-Line Burger in the club, and you might want to bring a defensive lineman along with you to finish it.

“Every year we sit down and look at items we eat every day and think how can we make it in the stadium and get it to the guests the way it would be on your dining room table,” said Aramark Executive Chef John DiMartini. “We’re trying to make this fun food, different ways to do things, fun novelty ideas. Once the season is over we start talking about ideas for the next year.”


While fans are enjoying the latest culinary delights they can follow the Steelers on the mobile app, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram thanks to Wifi that is now available in the FedEx Great Hall and West Main Concourse. Clubs and suites also have free Wifi, and customer service reps will be stationed throughout Heinz Field to deal with issues.

Another feature this season is the Bud Light Deck, located under the Northwest Scoreboard. The deck is a private area and tickets will be distributed by Bud Light through retail activations, customer events, contests and promotions.

Heinz Field will also host the Joe Greene jersey retirement on Sunday, Nov. 2 when the Steelers play the Baltimore Ravens.

Other highlights for 2014 include:
- The Steeline Drum Line will entertain fans from the field level this season.
- Digital menu boards have been added to the club level, in both the East and West Clubs, to enhance the ordering process.

Change Up Your Iced Tea

Do you drink a lot of iced tea?  You do not have to settle for the same iced tea every day.  We have gathered some great tips on how to improve your iced tea. These various tricks will give you a new kind of iced tea for all of your summer outings this year. Keep reading and you can learn more at The Kitchn.



1. Use loose-leaf tea and brew it twice as strong.

Because iced tea gets diluted, you really want to extract the maximum amount of flavor from your tea. I recommend using loose-leaf tea. Tea bags are fine if you're in a hurry, but you'll get a lesser quality of tea and can't measure it precisely.

The easiest way to make iced tea is to make a hot brew. Make it twice as strong, strain it out, and then pour it over ice. For example, if you would normally use 1 teaspoon of tea for 6 ounces of water, use 2 teaspoons of tea. I tend to use a large pot and let the tea swirl around and then pour it through a strainer. A tea ball or small infuser is a big no-no because the leaves aren't able to rotate and expand to provide a lot of the flavor.

The hot brew method is especially important for green tea, which can get bitter if you cold steep it. However, black tea can work as a cold brewed tea, where you can infuse the tea in cold water overnight and then strain it the next day.
2. Go beyond standard green or black tea.

Fruity teas tend to make really great iced tea, like our Tangier tea that's black tea with apricots in it, or our Immortal Green Tea that's Japanese green tea with peaches and passion fruit. Rooibos teas also tend to make great iced tea and they're caffeine free. Some people might like a flowery iced tea with rose or jasmine, while others might prefer a spiced chai iced tea. I encourage people to experiment. Try different flavors; you never know what you will like.
3. Sweeten with juice or lemonade.

A great alternative to sugar is adding something like juice or lemonade. Trader Joe's makes a dynamite organic pink lemonade and a pomegranate limeade. If you add 1 cup of that to 8 to 10 cups of iced tea, it's not a traditional half-and-half Arnold Palmer ratio, but you just get a little kick of flavor and sweetness. Pomegranate juice can also provide a boost of sugar and vibrant color.

4. Go wild with fruit.

There are so many other things you can add besides sugar, if you get creative. For example, try any fruit that's local, fresh, and sweet —whatever you get at the farmers' market. After the tea has brewed, let it cool 4 to 5 hours at room temperature, and then add fruit. You can then drink it immediately or let the fruit steep overnight, kind of like a sangria.

My favorite fruit to add is watermelon, which adds a natural sweetness and looks pretty. Apricots are also great; they seem to suck in all the bitterness of the tea and release tons of sweetness. Figs are amazing. We freeze figs and then throw them in a Vitamix with tea; you're getting sweetness, fiber, and your daily serving of fruit.

Oranges are obviously a natural accompaniment to tea, as are lemons. Limes are tricky; they get bitter after awhile, especially if they have the rinds.

Blueberries don't do much flavor-wise because of the skin, but they're pretty, especially on top or frozen into ice cubes made from iced tea (which are great because they don't dilute the tea).

Raspberries and strawberries taste great but fall apart after a bit. For fruits that disintegrate, you might want to strain them out after they have steeped, and then add fresh fruit at the last minute for visual appeal.
5. Play with herbs.

When things are intensely flavorful, then I think people don't miss the sugar. In addition to fruit, herbs can add a lot of flavor. I like lavender in everything; it's pretty and it really adds a different flavor. There are so many incredible kinds of mint to experiment with — chocolate mint, lemon mint, mint basil, spearmint. Rosemary is interesting, also chamomile. Think of iced tea like cocktails. It doesn't have to be boring and out of the bottle.
6. Just experiment!

I consider everything. If I like the way it tastes, I'll put it in tea. I've even put Sriracha in tea, although I found that a smoked pepper worked better. We've used lots of different things: stone ground Mexican chile chocolate; chai with almond butter, cinnamon, and cream. Just experiment! Unlike coffee, with iced tea if there's a flavor you like, you can replicate it. You can have fruity, floral, savory, sweet, umami. Whatever you like, there's no right or wrong. If it makes you happy, go for it.