Why Three Rivers Stadium DIED

Three Rivers Stadium was demolished on a 21-degree February morning in 2001 while the city still owed $28 million on the original construction debt. This is the full story of why Three Rivers Stadium died, and what Pittsburgh lost when it blew up the building that defined the greatest decade any American city has ever had in professional sports. This video traces the complete history of Three Rivers Stadium from the 20 years of political debate that preceded its construction to the 19 seconds it took to fall. You will learn how the stadium opened in 1970 as the home of Roberto Clemente, whose 3,000th and final hit was recorded there in September 1972 — three months before he died in a plane crash carrying earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua — and how the Baseball Hall of Fame waived its five-year waiting period to induct him immediately, a honor previously extended only to Lou Gehrig. The video covers the Immaculate Reception in full: the December 1972 play that the NFL Network has since voted the greatest in league history, how a fan named Michael Ord coined the name in a Pittsburgh bar that same night, and why Raiders coach John Madden maintained until his death that the play was illegal.