Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
Three Rivers Stadium in 1999
A Steelers game in 1996
Honus Wagner statue at Three Rivers
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multifunctionality over specificity. It is used most commonly in Canada and the United States, where the two most popular outdoor team sports—Canadian football or American football and baseball—require radically different facilities. Football uses a rectangular field, while baseball is played on a diamond with a large outfield. Since Canadian football fields are larger than American ones, the design specifications for Canadian facilities are somewhat less demanding. The particular design to accommodate both is usually an oval, although some later designs use an octorad. While building stadiums in this way means that sports teams and governments can share costs, it also presents some challenges.
RFK Stadium, a multipurpose stadium in Washington, D.C., US
Vikingskipet, Norway is a multi-purpose stadium for ice sports
Ratina Stadium in Tampere, Finland
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida: Now a football-only stadium, its layout when it was a multi-purpose stadium (pictured here) placed the baseball diamond in the corner of the football field.