Ballpark: PNC Park

On the second to last Sunday of the regular season, I attended Pirates vs. Reds game at PNC Park with my friend Ben and his roommate Evan. In recent years, a game at PNC Park on the second to last Sunday of the regular season would not have been a celebrated occasion. However, with the Buccos (a shortened version of buccaneers) in route to their first winning season in 20 years coupled with a divisional series against the hated Reds, who were also vying for playoff positioning, PNC Park was electric. Factor in the Sunday night NFL game at Heinz Field down the street, Pittsburgh was the place to be on this late September weekend.

PNC Park is located on the north shore of the Allegheny River where it meets the Ohio River. We parked north of the stadium and walked under a couple of highway overpasses and through a couple of parking lots containing a few Steelers fans tailgating for the night's football game. Before even entering PNC Park I was impressed. PNC Park is one of the many ballparks with a retro feel due to its stone exterior and steel truss-like light towers. Statues of some of the Pirates all-time greats (Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, and others) pay tribute to the franchises storied history at each corner of the ballpark. There is a nice river walk along the south side of the ballpark and we walked by a couple of boats with sporting Pirate flags (both the Jolly Roger and flags with the traditional Pirates logo). Getting from downtown Pittsburgh to PNC Park for a game is easy as the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which ends at the center field gate, is only open to pedestrians before and after games. The Roberto Clemente Bridge, thanks in part to its yellow paint job, is also the center piece of the downtown backdrop when viewed from home plate. I think this downtown view is an iconic image of how ballparks have been designed around their city and are now more than just a sporting venue.

PNC ballpark feels small with an upperdeck that wraps from foul pole to foul pole and limited seating in the outfield. The scoreboard sits above a relatively flat section of bleacher in left field. Although the scoreboard itself is not unique, the Pirates did some pretty cool things on the scoreboard throughout the game. One of which was during the players third at-bat, their name was spelled out using letters from pictures of well-known places throughout the city. The concourse of the stadium was pretty usual. The outfield concourse in right field was uncovered and pretty spacious. After passing Manny Sanguillen BBQ stand in center field (where Manny Sanguillen often sits and sign autographs) and a ramp which overlooks the bullpens (but you are not allowed to stop on the ramp), the concourse tunnels under the bleachers in left field. The concourse ends abruptly at a escalator surrounded by a spiral ramp where many, many fans with standing room only tickets were congregating. Since this spiral ramp had many floors was close to the field, I think this would be one of the best standing room locations of all the stadiums. Our seats were located at the base of the spiral ramp and we were only about 10 rows off the field. The fans around knew this was an important game: many were waiving Jolly Roger flags in hopes the Pirates would "Raise the Jolly Roger!" for a Pirates victory. The fans also got on their own left fielder Jose Tabata for some questionable defensive plays.

The concourse from foul pole to foul pole was pretty standard with an overlook onto the field and many local concessions. I opted for the Pittsburgher sandwhich at the Primanti Brothers stand. This Pittsburgh classic consisted of a meat patty, vinegar slaw, and french fries between white bread. I actually the slaw and the french fries on the sandwich on the sandwich but I wasn't a huge fan of the meat on the sandwich. The local flair of the ballpark continued with the pierogi race: where mascot pierogi characterized by their fillings raced around the field. The field itself had some unique characteristics. The left field wall meets the foul pole at a rather obtuse angle before cutting straight across toward the bullpens in right-center field. The bullpens extend about 10' further into field, there is an unusual nook in the middle of the outfield. The batter's eye in dead centerfield consists of a green wall and a hedge manicured to spell out pirates.  In honor of Roberto Clemente there is a 21' wall in right field.

Unfortunately, the Pirates could not match the atmosphere with their play this Sunday afternoon. Jay Bruce doubled home 3 runs, then Todd Frazier homered to put a 5 spot up in the top of the first against Bucco starter Jeff Locke. The Pirates when the their bullpen in the second inning but that did not stop the bleeding as the Reds scored 2 more for a 7-0 inning before the Pirates had their second at bat. The Pirates closed the gap to 7-3 after a pair of home runs and a sacrifice fly against Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. However, the Reds bullpen shut out the Pirates the rest of the way and the Reds added 4 more runs cruised to an 11-3 win.

My take-away from PNC Park is that has earned its accolades for being one of the league's best ballparks: the backdrop is second-to-none, the field has unique dimensions, and the ballpark itself is modern but maintains the old-time baseball feel through the retro theme. Being hypercritical, there were some locations where the concourse became gridlock with people. Also, the river made the downtown area seem further away than it was, both in distance and in atmosphere.