Heinz Field makes comeback at Aliquippa High School
ALIQUIPPA, Pa. (KDKA) -- Heinz Field is making a comeback -- but this time in the world of high school football.
Kraft Heinz is donating $1.3 million to the school district to help build an academic and athletic center attached to the new Heinz Field, which is the district's renovated football stadium also known as "The Pit."
Aliquippa's beloved Quips have played 15 consecutive championship games at the old Heinz Field.
"Kraft Heinz is proud to call Pittsburgh home as our co-headquarters, and we're excited to bring Heinz Field back to the community in a new and meaningful way," said Carlos Abrams-Rivera, executive vice president and president of North America at Kraft Heinz, in a press release. "We look forward to seeing Heinz Field live on as part of the Aliquippa community."
The academic and athletic center will feature offices, lockers, weight rooms, training and therapy rooms and a large collaborative creative space for hands-on learning. Kraft Heinz said community members will also have access to the flexible space and weight rooms for programs and classes.
Heinz Field ceased to exist after Acrisure bought the naming rights, but Peter Hall, the president of U.S. Away from Home and Kraft Heinz Ingredients, said finding a way to revive it has been a priority over the past year.
On opening night this fall, the Quips be playing in a brand new stadium after Carl Aschman Stadium was completely torn apart last summer. The renovations include new goal posts, bleachers, new synthetic turf, field-enhanced stadium light and a new video scoreboard.
"Our beloved stadium has recently undergone a complete transformation, and we're thrilled to continue this momentum with a new academic and athletic center for our students and community members in partnership with Kraft Heinz," said Superintendent Dr. Phillip Woods in a press release.
"We're incredibly proud of our athletics program, which has the most Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League football titles in league history and three alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kraft Heinz's donation will help us further our legacies together and will impact Aliquippa, a deserving community, for generations to come."
Construction of the new academic and athletic center is expected to be completed in 2025, Kraft Heinz said.