Building on strong attendance, the Riverhounds plan to triple Highmark’s capacity

Flanked by a view of the Highmark Stadium of today, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and regional leaders announced an ambitious plan to triple the stadium’s size over the next several years.

“This expansion is going to be great for our fans and allow us to take our teams to the level we want to reach,” Riverhounds SC owner Tuffy Shallenberger told media. “But it’s also going to bring additional events here that will help the entire Pittsburgh community. We’re excited to start and take this next step forward.”

Plans detail a three-sided stadium with spiral ramps similar to those at PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium. Highmark’s location wouldn’t change — the park is directly adjacent to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and a frequently used CSX freight rail line — but the railroad side would gain an arched masonry walkway over the existing seating that would connect the western and eastern grandstands.

Officials said the project would likely cost between $125 and $130 million in combined public and private funds. Shallenberger said Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro had already promised some $3 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funding, though further details on cost and timing remained vague. Riverhounds President Jeff Garner said the team hoped to complete the project by 2028 to coincide with USL’s planned first-division expansion (the Riverhounds currently play in the USL Championship, a second-division league).

“We’ve currently completed our D-1 application with the USL,” Shallenberger said. “U.S. Soccer Division one requires stadiums to have a capacity of 15,000, which is what brings us here today.”

Riverhounds players were on hand to unveil site-specific renderings by Pittsburgh-based DLA+ Architecture & Interior Design.

After Shallenberger noted Highmark’s central location and proximity to local transit, Pa. Sen. Wayne Fontana and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato both hailed the development as a way to increase tourism. Fontana said he saw the Highmark expansion as part of a third Pittsburgh Renaissance, and Innamorato and other speakers also tied the long-rumored expansion to need and enthusiasm beyond the men’s game — the Riveters, for example, drew over 28,000 fans over six fixtures at the stadium.

“We are so excited to have you here and to see the growth that is coming. I’m personally very excited to have a professional women’s sports team here in Allegheny County,” Innamorato said. “There is real economic impact when we make investments like this. The per person out-of-venue spending would range anywhere from around $12 for local folks to $265 for an overnight attendee.”

Innamorato and team leadership said they “optimistically” expected 500,000 stadium visitors per year, of whom some 4% would stay in the region overnight. Speakers framed the development as a major boost to the South Shore, which has struggled with business turnover and changing fortunes in the Station Square development.

The Pittsburgh Riveters SC USL W League side drew Highmark’s fourth-largest crowd ever for their inaugural game and saw near-capacity crowds throughout the short W League season. Shallenberger, Garner, and others said the stadium had also seen frequent use by college and high-school athletics programs. Riverhounds and Riveters players with local roots said they had seen firsthand how the stadium and the Riverhounds’ Academy and satellite programs had impacted local youth.

“The Pittsburgh area is sort of a microcosm of the United States in the way that soccer has grown in popularity and in terms of the community support,” Riverhounds midfielder Robbie Mertz said. “I think these renderings here are proof that that is going to continue to grow … People will look at this, they’ll drive across the bridges, they will see us on the same level as the Steelers, the Penguins, the Pirates.”

This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2025.