PNC Park
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Year Opened
2001

Current Team
Pittsburgh Pirates

Affiliate
N/A

League
National League

Capacity
39,000

Location Map

My Grades
Stadium A
Atmosphere A-
Concessions A-

Photos taken in 2005 & 2003
The Pirates have gone from having one of the worst parks to now having one of the best. Of course anything would have been an improvement over cold and sterile Three Rivers Stadium. But the Pirates didn't just build an ordinary new park - they built perhaps the best new park since the frenzy started in '92 with Camden Yards opening. Built right next to the location of the former stadium, PNC Park provides a spectacular view of the city skyline as well as the Roberto Clemente bridge (which is yellow in color just like all the bridges in Pittsburgh). The exterior of the park is a sandy light brown in color, which is a refreshing change from all the red brick parks that have been built of late. It really fits in with the surrounding streets, especially since they have placed restaurants in it which open up to the street. But it's not just the great setting that makes this park attractive. It's also the park's features - seats close to the action, a low upper deck, luxury boxes that are well hidden, and a nice concourse that overlooks the playing field. The upper deck is said to one of the lowest in the majors - this was possible due to the limited number of luxury boxes and the way they were tucked in between the two decks. Also, the press box was put at the top of the upper deck, another reason that the upper deck could be lower. As with all new parks, there are a ton of different concession items including local favorites like Primanti Brothers Sandwiches and Quaker Steak and Lube wings. But also as usual, their prices are on the high side. The concourse area can get tight here with big crowds (which seem to be rare these days), but this was the only complaint (besides the high prices) I could find of PNC Park. Hopefully more teams will look at PNC Park as a model of how to build a new park, especially since the price tag for it was so low (somewhere in the $200 million range). Now if the Pirates could just field a winning team, the press might recognize what a great park this is, and give it some recognition. Until then, it may become the most underrated park in the country.
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