Taylor Swift fans pack North Shore to buy merchandise ahead of singer's Eras Tour stop
Taylor Swift fans were lining up Thursday on the North Shore to purchase The Eras Tour merchandise in preparation for the singer's upcoming Pittsburgh concerts.
“I got here at 5:30 in the morning … I brought a book, playing games on my phone. Texting my daughter, who is making sure she is going to get her sweatshirt that she wants,” Kathy Acquaviva said.
“We got here at 7-ish, and we made bracelets to trade for the concert, so that was fun, and it made the time go by really fast, so it wasn’t that bad,” Danielle Ledonne said.
Swift is set to take the stage at Acrisure Stadium on Friday and Saturday.
Pittsburgh's Action News Sky 4 camera captured the lines of anticipated fans and trailers parked outside the stadium.
Swift's Eras Tour could possibly generate $4.6 billion for the U.S. economy.
The economic impact is already being felt at home.
From their Lavender Haze cocktail to their Italian Anti-Hero sandwich, everyone has Taylor Swift fever. Just ask the owner of Mike’s Beer Bar and North Shore Tavern.
“We always think we are prepared, but I have a feeling no matter what we do, it seems to get bigger the closer we get to the actual shows tomorrow,” Mike Sukitch said.
North Shore restaurants are always busy for games, but the Swift concerts are on a whole new level.
“We think about this like an opening day when we have big concerts down here, and opening day for us is the biggest day of the year,” said Sukitch.
The sold-out shows aren't only impacting North Shore businesses. VisitPittsburgh says the entire region will notice a boom.
“Just our basic estimates, we are imagining that Taylor Swift is going to be the biggest concert that Pittsburgh has ever hosted from an economic standpoint,” said VisitPittsburgh President and CEO Jerad Bachar.
To put that into perspective, VisitPittsburgh says the revenue generated from the Elton John concert at PNC Park last year was $11.5 million for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Swift is performing twice.
“It's going to be very impactful for downtown for hotels, for restaurants, for attractions,” Bachar said.
“We got here at 6 a.m., and I got everything … This is the blue crew neck that everyone wants, and it's only sold at this merch truck, and it keeps selling out, so that's the reason why everyone camped out this morning,” Jessica Ratkiewicz said.
It's a sign that showtime is almost here for thousands of Swifties.
“I am representing the 'Lover' album, so I am wearing hot pink, hearts, butterflies, all the things … I love Taylor because each album is a part of my life, so all of her eras, this is my Super Bowl,” Ledonne said.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto says at Swift’s concerts, there will be 50 officers inside the stadium and 25 outside. Overall, he said, it will impact about 200 city officers over the weekend.
"We anticipate some of the largest crowds we’ve seen in quite some time converging in areas throughout the city, mainly downtown in the North Shore, Market Square, Point State Park, Liberty Avenue and around Acrisure Stadium," said Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt.
As many as 100,000 Swift fans will be on the North Shore over the weekend.
“This is probably the biggest event I would say in the city in quite some time … we have people coming down from Canada and all over the country, but we are excited for them to see the city, we are excited for them to see Acrisure Stadium,” said Steelers spokesperson Burt Lauten.