PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers and the taxpayer-funded city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority announced they're going to try to settle a dispute over who must pay most of the estimated $30 million cost to add 3,000 seats to Heinz Field.
The Steelers sued last year after an authority plan to use a parking surcharge to fund the expansion fell through,
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The judge held another hearing Thursday to determine whether former authority director Steven Leeper could testify to his recollection of the lease negotiations — which Leeper has said favors the team's position. But the judge didn't immediately rule on that question after representatives from both sides,
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"I don't think we're at a stage where each of the parties can say what they're willing to do at this point,
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Rooney declined comment, but Mark Hart, the Steelers' director of strategic planning and development,
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On Thursday, Judge James told the Steelers he didn't understand why the Steelers wanted to have Leeper clarify the lease when the team had earlier argued the document's language was clearly in the team's favor. James called the team's positions "somewhat inconsistent."
Authority attorney Walter DeForest said, "I don't feel it's appropriate at this juncture to get into a discussion of those points. The parties are hopefully going to sit down together and talk."
Allegheny County Judge Joseph James in June refused to issue an immediate order upholding the teams' claim that the authority must pay most of the money, but agreed to hold a trial on the matter Dec. 4.
The Steelers have argued new seats at the 12-year-old stadium qualify as a "capital improvement" needed to keep the team competitive with other NFL franchises,
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