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Pirates Den

Despite 20 years of losing seasons, Pittsburgh has the best ballpark in the game.

Pirates Den

Despite 20 years of losing seasons, Pittsburgh has the best ballpark in the game.

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Despite 20 years of losing seasons, Pittsburgh has the best ballpark in the game.

The late Kansas City Star columnist Bill Vaughn once opined that it’s never safe to be nostalgic about something until you’re certain that it’s not coming back, but that doesn’t stop baseball fans in Pittsburgh from getting a little misty-eyed come October. You can hardly blame them. In 1960, ’71 and ’79, the month saw Pirates teams featuring the likes of Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente and Willie “Pops” Stargell bring home World Series titles to the Steel City, adding to victories earned in 1909 and 1925. Since then, aside from a fluttering trifecta of NL East titles from 1990-92, the Pirates and their fans have been on a long, rough voyage. They’re currently navigating 20 years of losing seasons, the longest losing streak in any of the four major professional North American sports leagues. But if the fans are suffering on game days—and it’s tough to believe that they are not—at least they’re doing it in the best field in baseball: PNC Park.

This statue of Honus Wagner, one of the heroes of the Pirates’ 1909 World Series win, greets visitors to the home plate entrance
This statue of Honus Wagner, one of the heroes of the Pirates’ 1909 World Series win, greets visitors to the home plate entrance

The game has its old-school shrines, like Fenway and Wrigley, and it has its high-tech wonders, like San Francisco’s PacBell Park, but perhaps no field of dreams is as well balanced, fan-friendly and endearing as PNC Park—and we’re not the only ones who think so. Referencing Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpiece “Fallingwater,” Jim Caple of ESPN.com wrote that the iconic house, near Pittsburgh, “is regarded as the perfect blend of art, architecture and environment… Or at least it was until PNC Park opened.”

There’s no doubt the place is easy on the eyes. Built over 24 months at a cost near $220 million, its exterior is covered in the rough limestone that defines the nearby countryside, itself in full and stunning view. Inside the park, large archways and plenty of steel create a grand, if nostalgic, feel. In fact, there’s a lot of vintage vibe here, some of which is due to the fact that there are only two spectator decks. The two-deck design (as opposed to multiple configurations of seating areas, as seen in ultra-modern “mega stadia”) is definitely old school; PNC Park is the first U.S. park to utilize the layout since Milwaukee’s County Stadium, which opened in 1953. Subsequently, the highest seat is just 88 feet from the field, and every fan in the house has a fantastic sight line.

For the Fans

A few years ago, those fans would have had an excellent view of a promising new pitcher. Arnold Palmer says he attends at least one Pirates game per year at PNC Park, but for his 80th birthday celebration—attended with good friend and PNC Financial Services chairman Jim Rohr—Palmer actually managed to get down on the field. “I threw out the first pitch to the ballgame, and I called it,” Palmer recalled. “I said to the guys on the mound, ‘Now, I’m going to pitch a strike right across the center of the plate at about 80mph,’ and they looked at me and laughed, and of course that became a big deal because I did it. And then they put the real pitcher in and the first eight pitches were all hits by the opposing team. The big joke was they should have left me in.”

The first official game at PNC Park, played on April 9, 2001, saw the Pirates lose (8–2 to the Cincinnati Reds). Still, the fans likely didn’t care too much. A preseason warmup against the New York Mets was played March 31 and, though it was also a loss, the fan experience yielded rave reviews.

“I’m so thrilled to be here, I’m just trying to keep the tears back,” fan Jane Windhorst told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the day after the first game. The paper also spoke with an usher who’d worked for 30 years at the Pirates’ former home at Three Rivers Stadium. He described the view of downtown and the riverfront as “breathtaking… People are walking in just saying, ‘Wow.’ Before the game started, we had a few hundred people down here lined up like a drill team taking pictures of the skyline.”

Palmer prepares for his 80th birthday pitch
Palmer prepares for his 80th birthday pitch

The park sits on the Allegheny River, in the Northside district. Getting to it is easy, with pedestrian access via the Roberto Clemente Bridge, bus services, a free light rail service (known as the “T”) and even the possibility of arriving by boat. The last route puts you in the river, 443 feet, 4 inches from home plate—which was a dangerous place to be on July 10, 2006. That year, at a home run derby held the night before the All Star Game, both Ryan Howard of the Phillies and Boston’s David Ortiz put balls in the water (with Howard eventually winning the derby). No Pirate has yet matched the feat, but there’s always next year, as they say.

For fans arriving by foot, the Clemente Bridge makes a grand entrance indeed. Locals originally wanted the park itself named for the Pirates’ famed right fielder, but settled for the honor going to the bridge when PNC Financial Services stepped up with park funding. Closed to vehicles on game days (as it is for Steelers games at nearby Heinz Field), the bridge deposits fans on the southeast corner of PNC Park, where they’re greeted by a statue of Clemente just outside the centerfield gate. He’s not alone. In fact, the park is surrounded with reminders that the team used to be a force in the game. Near Clemente is a statue of Stargell, the legendary Pirates first baseman and left fielder who played his entire 21-year career in Pittsburgh and helped the team take the Series in both 1971 and 1979. The statue was dedicated just two days before his death, which just happened to be the date of the first official game in PNC Park. At the home plate entrance, the great Honus Wagner stands looking skyward as if he’s watching his ball fly over the fence. In addition to being an all-time great, Wagner helped the Pirates to their 1909 World Series win at the age of 35, batting .333 and stealing six bases. Likewise, fans entering at right field get to see a statue of Mazeroski celebrating “the greatest home run in history,” which Arnold Palmer is thrilled to have witnessed. “I was at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh on the last game of the World Series,” Palmer remembered, with some pride. “Mazeroski was at bat and hit that home run to win the ballgame, and I was there.”

Bill Mazeroski celebrates the home run that sealed the 1960 World Series
Bill Mazeroski celebrates the home run that sealed the 1960 World Series

It was Monday, October 10, 1960, and the World Series between the Pirates and New York Yankees was tied at three games each. Game 7 was played at Forbes Field, the Pirates’ home since 1909, where Palmer and a capacity crowd watched Pittsburgh’s finest hold off the likes of Roger Maris, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle for eight innings. Coming into the ninth with a two-run lead, the Pirates quickly lost ground and let the Yankees tie it up. But any apprehension about going into extra innings disappeared when Mazeroski stepped to the plate, the Pirates’ first at bat. With a count of one ball and no strikes, the second baseman crushed a pitch from the Yankees’ Ralph Terry over the left field wall to become the first player to win the World Series with a game-ending home run in Game 7. It’s a moment to which Pirates fans cling tightly, and the statue is an inspiring reminder.

Once you’re inside the park, the history continues—even if it’s not as obvious. The steel arches and overall design harken back to the city’s days as the top steel town, while the right field wall rises to a height of 21 feet, another homage to the Pirates’ Clemente, who wore #21.

Of course PNC Park isn’t all old-school. While the design offers a look back, the park is positively modern. Plenty of technology comes into play, most obviously with scoreboards that are absolutely cutting edge. The out-of-town scoreboard, specifically, offers the requisite score, inning and pitchers, but also shows how many outs, how many runners on base and their locations, which is tremendous. There are 69 luxury suites offering top amenities, numerous modern lounges and—during and after the games—a host of shopping and dining opportunities. And when we write “dining,” we mean serious chow, Pittsburgh style. We mean Primanti Bros.

Food

Joe Primanti started selling sandwiches from a street cart in Pittsburgh in the 1930s. At some point, he moved his operation into a small restaurant on the city’s 18th Street, fried up some potato chips, threw them on a sandwich, and created one of the city’s most emblematic edibles: The Primanti Sandwich. Today, in addition to locations around the city, Primanti Bros. has a location at PNC Park, and fans couldn’t be happier. If that wasn’t local enough for you, the park’s “Manny’s BBQ” concession stand is owned and operated by the Pirates own legendary catcher, Manny Sanguillen. Not only can fans land, among other things, the ridiculous and amazing Pulled Pork and Pierogi Stacker (potato-filled pierogis over pulled pork with carmelized onions on a soft pretzel), but Manny himself often cruises the line of people waiting for food and signs autographs.

These two food spots, in addition to other Pittsburgh institutions like Quaker Steak and Lube and Mrs. T’s Pierogies, reinforce PNC Park as a locals’ arena, while the usual array of pizza places, burgers, Mexican food, ice cream and beer (including a few microbrews) will leave you no doubt you’re at a ballpark. If you’d rather not leave your seat, ESPN’s Caple notes that hot dogs are delivered to fans in the stands via a contraption resembling a T-shirt cannon, like the types used at concerts. The hot dogs are actually fired at you through the air, giving you one more good reason to bring a glove to the game. If you can’t make up your mind (or you just really, really like food), there’s an all-you-can-eat section on the lower level where a ticket gets you unlimited hot dogs, pretzels, and the like.

Lastly—and amazingly to any baseball fan who doesn’t live in Pittsburgh—fans can bring their own food into PNC Park, something that’s rarely allowed in Major League ballparks, which often put a premium on getting your concession dollars. This ballfield is for the fans, no question.

Finally

Jay Ahuja, who wrote “Fields of Dreams: A Guide to Visiting and Enjoying All 30 Major League Ballparks,” ranked PNC Park near the top of the list, as did Men’s Fitness and ABC News at various times. The latter said PNC “combines the best features of yesterday’s ballparks—rhythmic archways, steel trusswork and a natural grass playing field—with the latest in fan and player amenities and comfort.”

The views and food are wonderful, the building’s beautiful, the field is natural grass and everything’s great—except the team. But Pirates fans, including Arnold Palmer, aren’t worried. “They’re going to come back,” Palmer said. For now, he added, “The stadium is one of the best I’ve ever been in.”

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