Pittsburgh: PNC Park (September 2018)

My spouse and I attended a baseball game at PNC Park in early September 2018. The Pittsburgh Pirates were playing the Miami Marlins: Pittsburgh won 5-1!
PNC Park is located on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates that opened in 2001, after the controlled implosion of Three Rivers Stadium. PNC Park seats 38,747 people for baseball, the second-smallest of any major league stadium (the smallest is Fenway Park). It is known as an intimate, classic-style ballpark, although it includes a newer feature, a limestone facade. Its scenic vistas of downtown and the riverfront create an exciting and dramatic urban sports venue. The park also features a riverside concourse, steel truss work, an extensive out-of-town scoreboard, and many local eateries.
When it came time to name the new stadium, fans suggested naming it after former outfielder Roberto Clemente, but sponsor PNC wanted to name it after itself. As a compromise, the city of Pittsburgh renamed the 6th Street Bridge near the park the Roberto Clemente Bridge. The bridge is closed to vehicular traffic on game days to allow spectators to park in Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle and walk across the bridge to the stadium.
Statues of Pirates' Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski are positioned at various points outside of PNC Park. (Wagner and Clemente's statues were previously located outside of the imploded Three Rivers Stadium.)
The ballpark has continued to evolve over the years. In 2012, the "Budweiser Bow Tie", a 5,000-square foot bar and lounge located in the right field corner of the ballpark, was added. In 2015, many additions to the park took place for better fan experience, including the left field terrace, which has 2 levels for standing room with 250 feet of drink rails. Another addition includes a new outdoor patio called “The Porch” that overlooks center field, right next to the terraces, and features bar tables and outdoor sofa-style seating. Also added for the 2015 season are The Corner (a full-service bar at the very base of the left field rotunda with 9 flat screen TVs); Terrace Bar (a fully operating bar for fans in the upper concourse), and Pirates Outfitters (an additional merchandise shop located next to the home-plate entrance).
The main eating concourse, known as "Tastes of Pittsburgh", features a wide range of options including traditional ballpark foods, hometown specialties (Primanti Brothers sandwiches, whose signature item consists of meat, cheese, hand-cut French fries, tomatoes, and coleslaw between two slices of Italian bread), and more exotic fare like sushi. Other local eateries offered include Mrs. T's Pierogies, Quaker Steak and Lube, Augustine's Pizza, and Benkovitz Seafood.
















No comments: