Heinz Field is a stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League (NFL) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) respectively. The stadium opened in 2001, after the controlled implosion of the teams' previous stadium, Three Rivers Stadium. The stadium is named for locally-based H. J. Heinz Company, which purchased the naming rights in 2001. It hosted the 2011 NHL Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals on January 1, 2011.
Funded in conjunction with PNC Park and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the $281 million ($368.8 million today) stadium stands along the Ohio River, on the Northside of Pittsburgh in the North Shore neighborhood. The stadium was designed with the city of Pittsburgh's history of steel production in mind, which led to the inclusion of 12,000 tons of steel into the design. Ground for the stadium was broken in June 1999 and the first football game was hosted in September 2001. The stadium's natural grass surface has been criticized throughout its history, but Steelers ownership has kept the grass after lobbying from players and coaches. Attendance for the 65,050 seat stadium has sold out for every Steelers home game, a streak which dates back to 1972 (a year before local telecasts of home games were permitted in the NFL). A collection of memorabilia from the Steelers and Panthers of the past can be found in the Coca-Cola Great Hall.
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008. Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, Deal or No Deal, in November 2009. He released the mixtape Kush and Orange Juice as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records. He is also well known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, Rolling Papers, was released on March 29, 2011.
Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 to a mother and a father serving in the military. His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move regularly: Khalifa lived in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.
Luke Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country singer. Bryan began his musical career in the mid-2000s, writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington. After signing with Capitol Records Nashville in 2007, he released the album I'll Stay Me, which included the singles "All My Friends Say", "We Rode in Trucks" and "Country Man". Followup album Doin' My Thing included "Do I", which Bryan co-wrote with Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, and the number one singles "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby". Tailgates & Tanlines, released in 2011, includes "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" and his third number one, "I Don't Want This Night to End". Bryan co-wrote all of his singles with the exception of "Drunk on You" and co-produced all three albums with Jeff Stevens.
Bryan was born and raised in Leesburg, Georgia. At age fourteen, his parents bought him his first guitar, and after learning to play it, he joined various local bands and began to play in local clubs. After graduating Lee County High School, Bryan planned to move to Nashville, Tennessee; however, this move was delayed, due to the death of his brother, Chris, on the same day he planned to leave. Luke attended Georgia Southern University, and is a member of the Eta Zeta chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. After graduation Luke went to work for his dad, despite everyone encouraging him to move to Tennessee. His dad encouraged him to relocate and he arrived in Nashville in 2001, signing a record deal only two months later.
Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll (born January 5, 1932) is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991. Noll has more Super Bowl wins (4) than any other head coach in NFL history, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Noll attended Benedictine High School where he played running back and tackle, winning All-State honors. He won a football scholarship to the University of Dayton. Noll was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1953, where he played until his retirement in 1959 at the age of 27.
Noll was an assistant coach for the American Football League's San Diego Chargers and the NFL Baltimore Colts before becoming the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach. He was the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Colts (under head coach Don Shula) during their 13–1 season in 1968, in which the team set an NFL record of fewest points allowed (144). The 1968 Colts won the NFL championship by stomping the Cleveland Browns 34–0 in Cleveland, but the heavily favored Colts were shocked by the upstart AFL champion New York Jets, 16–7, in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Dierks Bentley (born November 20, 1975) is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip Alone, is certified gold. It was followed in mid-2008 by a greatest hits package. His fourth album, Feel That Fire was released in February 2009. A bluegrass studio album, Up on the Ridge, was released on June 8, 2010, and then a sixth album, Home, followed in February 2012.
Bentley's studio albums have accounted for eighteen singles on the country singles charts, of which nine have reached No. 1: his debut single "What Was I Thinkin'", as well as "Come a Little Closer", "Settle for a Slowdown", "Every Mile a Memory", "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)", "Feel That Fire", "Sideways", "Am I the Only One", and "Home". Four more of his singles have reached Top Five on the country charts as well.