Steelers' Friday Night Lights practice in Latrobe generated $121K

Dry skies, a higher admission price and a more efficient online ticketing system all contributed to $121,000 in revenue being collected from the Steelers’ Friday Night Lights practice held Aug. 2 in Greater Latrobe School District’s Memorial Stadium.

That figure was a $40,000 increase from the previous year’s popular annual event — a joint effort of the Steelers and the district, with support from local school and community organizations.

The increased proceeds from the event in Latrobe allowed the district, after costs, to share $54,500 in donations among 25 of those organizations, according to Greater Latrobe Athletic Director Zac Heide.

“Last year, the total donations we made was just shy of $35,000,” he said.

This year’s profits also provided $17,654 for athletic-related purchases at Greater Latrobe, including upgrades to the weight room and a new touchscreen video monitor for the main gym lobby.

In addition to the monitor’s use in some academic programs, Heide said, “It will aid in athletic recordkeeping and help in our plans to initiate a hall of fame for athletics.”

Attendance at this year’s practice was about 12,200, Heide said, a figure the district was able to more accurately track thanks to online ticket sales set up in cooperation with the Steelers. An estimated crowd of 11,000 attended the previous year’s practice — the first after a three-year hiatus caused by covid precautions two of those years and rained-out conditions the third year.

“One thing that’s always unknown every year is the weather,” Heide said. “This year, there was the highest possibility of precipitation that Friday. As luck had it, it ended up being a beautiful day, and we probably got a couple thousand extra people from the local area to come out and support the event.”

The decision to double the general admission price to $10 didn’t keep fans away.

“The public didn’t seem to bat an eye at that,” said Heide. “I think they had the understanding that profits were going to go back to benefit the local programs and kids.”