PNC Park

Lore & Background

Plans to build a new stadium for the Pirates originated in 1991 but did not come to fruition for five years. Funded in conjunction with Acrisure Stadium and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the park was built for $216 million in 24 months, faster than most modern stadiums. Built in the 'retro-classic' style modeled after past venues such as Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, PNC Park also introduced unique features, such as the use of limestone in the building's facade. The park has a riverside concourse, steel truss work, an extensive out-of-town scoreboard, and local eateries. Several tributes to former Pirate Roberto Clemente are incorporated into the ballpark, and the nearby Sixth Street Bridge was renamed in his honor. In addition to the Pirates' regular-season and postseason home games, PNC Park has hosted other events, including the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and numerous concerts. PNC Financial Services originally purchased the naming rights in 1998 for $30 million over 20 years, and currently holds the rights through 2031.

In Their Own Story

The April evening air off the Allegheny was cool enough to raise gooseflesh on your forearms, but the concrete steps behind home plate were warm from the sun that had baked them all afternoon. You could smell the river—mud, iron, the faint sweetness of the willows on the far bank—mixed with the char of hot-dog grease from the vendor three rows back. The skyline was just losing its last amber light, the windows of the PNC tower catching the last of the sun like a row of gold teeth. The pitcher wound up, and the ball left his hand with that lazy, river-breeze drift that only this park gives you, and it hung in the air a half-beat too long. The bat connected with a sound like a rifle crack, and the whole North Shore section detonated. 'LET'S GO COLS!' rolled out over the water in a wave you could feel in your chest, and for that one moment the river, the skyline, the city, and the diamond were all the same thing.

Reader's Guide

PNC Park is located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along the Allegheny River. The stadium seats 38,747 for baseball and features a natural grass playing surface. The out-of-town scoreboard was disabled for the 2022 season and replaced with advertising, but after fan outcry, it was returned in 2023. The Roberto Clemente Bridge is closed to vehicular traffic on game days to allow spectators to park in Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle and walk across. Statues of Pirates Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Bill Mazeroski sit outside the park.

Did You Know?

• The first official baseball game at PNC Park was an exhibition game on March 31, 2001, between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pirates; the Reds won 8–2.
• The first hit in the park was a single by Barry Larkin of the Reds in the top of the first inning.
• The stadium was built in 24 months, faster than most modern stadiums at the time.
• PNC Park is one of several two-deck ballparks built in the United States since 1953, joining Oriole Park at Camden Yards (1992) and Jacobs Field (1994).
• The out-of-town scoreboard was the first in MLB to show the score, inning, number of outs, and base runners for every other game.