The Steelers have revived their plan to build an entertainment complex next to Heinz Field. Their proposed $12 million amphitheater would sit on 3.9 acres and have indoor-outdoor use.

That's a fine amenity that would enhance the North Shore, a mixed neighborhood soon to have a slots casino and hotels along with major-league sports, offices, the Carnegie Science Center and the Andy Warhol Museum. We're all for the business venture, but not the $4 million state subsidy the developer wants to support the project.

The city's two stadiums were built mostly with public dollars, but Heinz Field ($158 million in subsidies) and PNC Park ($212 million) were designed to secure the futures of two major-league franchises. The forthcoming arena, the Penguins' next home, will be built with state aid of $7.5 million a year for 30 years.

Those are big subsidies, but the teams represent much to Pittsburgh in ticket sales, permanent jobs, spin-off business, Downtown vitality, fan fervor and national attention. Even so, when the funding packages first made headlines, some taxpayers argued that public dollars should not be used for such purposes.

The Post-Gazette disagreed with them because so much was riding on the sports venues. Not nearly as much is at stake with the amphitheater.

For one thing, Station Square had an amphitheater just a short boat ride away; it held its last show in 2006, with scarcely a tear shed. For another, the casino contains plans for an amphitheater; it makes no sense for one to be built with private money while the other gets $4 million from the state.

The Steelers received a state grant of that size several years ago for the amphitheater, only to shift it away to complete the North Shore parking garage. That was wise use of the money, but it doesn't mean a new grant is now owed the entertainment project.

The Pirates and Steelers got significant -- and, in our view, necessary -- public help to build the new stadiums, plus rights to develop the land in between. If an amphitheater there makes business sense, let the businesses pay for it.