VIDEO: Thursday Marks 20-Year Anniversary Of Three Rivers Stadium Implosion

Thursday marks the 20-year anniversary of the implosion of a Pittsburgh staple.

Three Rivers Stadium, the former home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates for more than three decades, was imploded on February 11, 2001.

WPXI was the only local news station to place cameras inside the facility to capture alternate angles of the 19-second implosion, which can be viewed in the video below.

Five unmanned cameras were placed together in the middle of the stadium as helicopters hovered above the destruction and provided commentary during a live broadcast.

The stadium was imploded after both the Steelers and Pirates made plans for new facilities. The Pirates opened PNC Park on March 31, 2001, while the Steelers opened Heinz Field during a preseason game on August 18, 2001.

Three Rivers Stadium was the home of six world championship teams between the Steelers (4) and Pirates (2) since its opening in 1970.

The stadium was also the site of "the Immaculate Reception" by legendary Steelers running back Franco Harris -- as coined by beloved radio broadcaster Myron Cope -- a moment that is immortalized by a statue that still stands outside Heinz Field and ranked as the greatest play in NFL history, according to NFL.com.

The concrete doughnut-shaped stadium featured a view of the downtown Pittsburgh skyline and cost about $55 million to be built, which was typical of civic planning at the time.

Two Rivers Stadium took just under two years to build, but was part of a nearly 20-year discussion prior to groundbreaking on April 25, 1968.

Photo: Getty Images