[14] A design was presented in 1958 which featured an open center field design—through which fans could view Pittsburgh's "Golden Triangle".

[15] A site on the city's Northside was approved on August 10, 1958, due to land availability and parking space,[15][16][17] the latter of which had been a problem at Forbes Field.

[15][20] Ground was broken in 1968 on April 25,[15][21][22] and due to the Steelers' suggestions, the design was changed to enclose center field.

[24] In January 1970, the new target date was set for May 29; however, because of a failure to install the lights on schedule, opening day was delayed once more to July 16.

[27] In their first game after the All-Star Break in 1970, the Pirates opened the stadium against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, July 16; who won, 3–2.

[28][29] The team donned new uniform designs for the first time that day, a similar plan was for new "mini-skirts" for female ushers.

The opening of Three Rivers marked the first time the Pirates allowed beer to be sold in the stands during a game since the early 1960s.

[30] During batting practice on that day, a stray foul ball hit a woman named Evelyn Jones in the eye while she was walking the stadium's concourse.

[11][35][36] Three Rivers was the first multi-purpose stadium and the first in either the NFL or MLB to feature 3M's Tartan Turf (then a competitor to the dominant AstroTurf), which was installed for opening day.

[39] Renovations for the start of the 1983 baseball season included replacing the Tartan Turf with AstroTurf, the center field Stewart-Warner scoreboard being removed and replaced with new seating—while a new Diamond Vision scoreboard with a White Way messageboard was installed at the top of the center field upper deck—and the outfield fence being painted blue from the previous aqua.

[40][41] The field originally used "Gamesaver vacuum vehicles" to dry the surface, though they were later replaced by an underground drainage system.

[42] Due to Three Rivers Stadium's multi-purpose design, bands including Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and The Who hosted concerts at the venue.

[43][44] On August 11, 1985,[45] Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band hosted the largest concert in Pittsburgh history, when they performed for 65,935 on-lookers.

It was during the Steelers' stay in Three Rivers that the now famous "Mean Joe" Greene Coke commercial aired, leading to a longstanding relationship between the two.

When Heinz Field opened, Coca-Cola also assumed the beverage contract for that stadium (the Pirates signed a deal with Pepsi for PNC Park before signing with Coke again in 2014), and also became the primary sponsor for the Steelers' team Hall of Fame, the Coca-Cola Great Hall.

Joining a wave of sports construction that swept the United States in the 1990s, both the Pirates and Steelers began a push for a new stadium.

This eventually culminated in the Regional Renaissance Initiative, an 11-county 1997 voter referendum to raise the sales tax in Pittsburgh's Allegheny County and ten adjacent counties 0.5% for seven years to fund separate new stadiums for the Pirates and Steelers, as well as an expansion of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and various other local development projects.

The initiative's defeat led to the development of "Plan B", an alternate funding proposal that used a combination of monies from the Allegheny Regional Asset District (an extra 1% sales tax levied on Allegheny County), state and federal monies and a number of other sources.

Doug Loizeaux, Mark's younger brother and vice president of Controlled Demolition, Inc., was happy to report that there was no debris within 40 feet (12 m) of Heinz Field.

[58] On September 30, 2012, members of the Society for American Baseball Research marked and painted the home plate and second base of the former stadium on the 40th Anniversary of Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit.

In 2022, the faded home plate print and the missing second base were replaced by metal plaques created by the Society for American Baseball Research.

They played there in the following games: Three Rivers Stadium opened on July 16, 1970, but the Pirates lost 3–2 to the Cincinnati Reds in front of 48,846 spectators.

The longest game at the stadium was played on August 6, 1989, when Jeff King hit a walk-off home run 5 hours and 42 minutes into the 18-inning contest, as the Pirates once again beat the Cubs 5–4.

Willie Stargell is the all-time leader in upper deck shots at the stadium with four; Jeff Bagwell hit two, while Bob Robertson, Bobby Bonilla, Devon White, Greg Luzinski, Glenallen Hill, Howard Johnson, and Mark Whiten (his home run struck the facade) hit one each.

Even if they end up building a hockey rink there, they should put some kind of a monument to that area where the Immaculate Reception took place."

[36] On December 23, 1972, Three Rivers Stadium was site to the Immaculate Reception, which became regarded as one of the greatest plays in NFL history.

[76] In the 1995 AFC Championship Game, the Steelers' Randy Fuller deflected a Hail Mary pass intended for Indianapolis Colts receiver Aaron Bailey as time expired, to send the franchise to Super Bowl XXX.