North Shore parking lots are important to fans

Mayor Bill Peduto wants to develop the Gold Lot 2 near Heinz Field for residential use (June 5, “Game Day Clash”). I guess he sees the increase in city income, property and occupancy taxes as a worthwhile bump to his annual revenue stream.

The Steelers, on the other hand, claim that they are in the process of developing other properties and just haven’t gotten to the Gold Lot 2 as of yet.

I’m guessing that people in the Steelers organization are trying to figure out how many longtime season tickets will be dropped if members of Steelers Nation lose the spaces they have tailgated in for generations. Likewise, they have to be calculating how many tickets they will not sell for events like the Kenny Chesney extravaganza if the fans don’t have someplace to get drunk before they enter the stadium.

It seems that the development on the North Shore has been focused on the areas where fans have traditionally congregated to tailgate before games and shows. Every new building and venue shrinks the available parking spaces. It almost seems like there is a purposeful attempt to banish tailgating altogether. Yet those fans are the ones who have filled the seats in Pitt Stadium, Three Rivers and now Heinz Field to cheer on their teams.

The well-off will always have their chauffeur to drop them off at the stadium gate so they can take the elevator to their luxury box, but what about the middle-class fans who have struggled each year to pony up for the price of season tickets, plus the seat surcharge and the parking fees, to come cheer on the Steelers? How long before they realize that they are being forced out of the North Shore? That is the elephant that no one is talking about.

If the city leaders don’t want tailgating, let them come out and publicly state that is the goal. Just don’t be surprised to find out how soon after that the Steelers and Heinz Field could face serious financial problems. LARRY STECKEL

McCandless