PITTSBURGH — This Sunday, the gates to Acrisure Stadium open at 11 a.m. for the first home game of the season.
But before you get to those gates, a reminder that you’ll be going through a new screening technology, which is meant to limit the time you spend waiting in line, without jeopardizing safety.
“I love the Steelers,” said Calvin Jackson. “Can’t you tell?”
Jackson spent more than $1,000 on Steelers merchandise, and Guido Emde traveled more than 4,000 miles from Germany for this Sunday’s game.
“Just came for the game,” said Emde. “Some other friends are coming from Germany too to meet me.”
Fans coming from all over to witness the first game at the newly named Acrisure stadium.
“I just saw the sign,” said Emde. “Still hard to get accustomed to the new name. It’s still Heinz Field to me.”
Evolv Technology is also new this season.
“The system is really designed to look for threats: firearms, explosive devices, tactical blades — things that can really do mass harm,” said Evolv Technology’s Vice President of Sports John Baier.
This new screening system lets you just walk right through without stopping or emptying your pockets, unless the system detects something and a secondary screening is necessary. Baier says it drastically cuts down on the long lines we’ve seen during previous seasons.
“In the past you were choosing safety over speed,” said Baier. “Now with Evolv you can have safety and speed at the same time, without compromising security.”
Acrisure is now the ninth NFL stadium with the Evolv technology.
This season, Acrisure is seeing how three different security systems work. Besides Evolv, the stadium is using OpenGate as well as the more traditional security screens. It’s still recommended that you head to the North Shore early and download your tickets ahead of time.
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