PITTSBURGH (Feb. 27, 2022) — Highmark Stadium, home of the Riverhounds, has been announced as the home to the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds of the American Ultimate Disc League for their 2023 season as part of an expanded partnership between the teams, and tickets are on sale now.
The Thunderbirds will play all six of their AUDL regular-season home games at Highmark Stadium, with their home opener set for April 29 at 6 p.m. against long-time divisional rival Madison Radicals. This marks the first full season in which the Thunderbirds will be competing at Highmark Stadium in Station Square, departing JC Stone Field in North Park, the stadium the Thunderbirds called home since 2019.
Pittsburgh Thunderbirds season tickets and mini plans are currently on sale, with single-game tickets being launched next week. Season plans can be purchased by clicking here, and mini-plan ticket plans can be purchased here.
The agreement for the 2023 season also includes cross-promotion between the teams, team-specific ticket discount offers, and a Riverhounds SC intra-squad halftime exhibition show by the Thunderbirds.
The last time the Thunderbirds played at Highmark Stadium was in 2022, when the Thunderbirds lost on a last-second goal to the rival Radicals in front of more than 500 fans.
In the 2016 Midwest Semifinal Playoffs against the Minnesota Wind Chill, the Thunderbirds also played at Highmark Stadium, going on to win that game, 20-18.
“Players and fans still talk about that experience, playing right alongside the river,” Pittsburgh Thunderbirds general manager Andrew Gardner said. “The atmosphere that stadium provides unleashes an energy unlike no other, and we’re so excited to be able to return to Highmark Stadium for another game.”
The partnership aligns well with the Thunderbirds existing partnership with Allegheny Health Network, a member of Highmark Health, who also returns to the sideline for their fourth season as the official athletic training and medical service team of the Thunderbirds.
Calling the playoff game from the press box overlooking the Monongahela River in 2016, Thunderbirds live-stream announcer Matt Weiss reflected on what it would mean to return to Highmark.
“That playoff game against Minnesota was the way it should be!” commented Weiss. “I would love to call games in Highmark Stadium, and I think I would have an easier time getting some of my non-ultimate playing friends to come out if it were at that venue. It just makes a difference!”
