Shelter from the storm: How FEMA's plan to use Acrisure Stadium will work

By Anya Sostek / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

About two years ago, the NFL approached FEMA with a proposition: What if there were a plan in place to use football stadiums in times of natural disasters and other crises?

The idea came in part through the NFL’s efforts to host mass vaccinations for COVID-19 at Acrisure Stadium and many others.

“They really came to us first,” said Allison Albright, private sector liaison at FEMA. “A lot of stadiums served as vaccination sites and they wanted to move forward with other ways to serve the community.”

For FEMA, it was a winning idea. Stadiums have been used in the past during natural disasters — famously at the Superdome in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, for example — but the plans were often made last-minute in response to a crisis.

Last month, FEMA and the NFL announced that Acrisure and three other stadiums would be the first to be designated as “Mission Ready Venues,” meaning that there are assessments and plans in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency situation.

“Even the COVID-19 operations were a little ad hoc,” said Albright. “We wanted to put the agreements in place ahead of time so that we can better plan and better support them in the future.”

The program is voluntary among NFL teams, and the Steelers were among the first to sign up to take part.

“We are honored, especially to be part of the first wave of stadiums,” said Cecelia Cagni, director of corporate communications at Acrisure Stadium. “It positions us to really be able to partner more seamlessly with those officials, allowing us to serve the community and use our assets and attributes in times of crisis.”

In addition to Acrisure, the initial stadiums to receive the Mission Ready Venue designation are MetLife, home of the Jets and the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.; Lumen Field in Seattle, home of the Seahawks; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., home of the Buccaneers. SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, home of the Chargers and the Rams, is under review.

FEMA began the program in part because extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more expensive.

Hurricane Helene hit Tampa just days after the initial announcement of the Mission Ready Venue program, and Raymond James Stadium was pressed into service by government agencies. Though FEMA was not involved in those efforts, the stadium provided temporary lodging for about 1,000 personnel ahead of the storm, with cots set up in the press box, clubs and suite levels of the stadium.

The Mission Ready Venue program inventoried Acrisure and the other stadiums for what they have on hand in the event of a crisis. They counted rooms, parking lot square footage, tables, chairs, refrigerators, restrooms, storage, golf carts, power supplies and backup power capabilities — and anything else that could be useful.

The assessment for Acrisure is now complete, and the facility is just awaiting the final paperwork for its Mission Ready Venue designation. The designations will need to be renewed every five years, and include annual checks for continued readiness.

“We have these mini-city attributes that can be leveraged,” said Cagni. “We have certain capabilities — location, ready access to a major airport and medical facilities, public transportation, parking.”

The stadium is also already ADA compliant, which is useful in the event that it needs to be used as a shelter for the general public.

What the NFL and Acrisure Stadium can also offer in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency is its status as a trusted space.

“This is a place that communities are familiar with — they already go there and connect there,” said Albright. “It’s considered safe for a lot of people.”