Pittsburgh: PNC Park

Overview

Amenities: This is another park that is average, but not overly excellent, in amenities. The concourses are nice. It would be better if the right field concourse were more open to the field. The scoreboard is one of the better ones, but it lacks a real info board, and can only display one lineup at a time. Views are excellent, as the top row is only 88 feet from the field. For me, though, that leaves something lacking. I like to visit really high seats, but obviously it isn't a real problem. I'm sure most fans would rather sit close to the field. The spiraling ramps in right are also interesting places from which to view the game. This park is only two decks, which is unusual for the new parks. One thing I don't like is that to ensure that the seats are so low and close to the field, the sloping of the decks is very gradual, which can make for bad views. Food is good. There are two full service restaurants under the scoreboard.

History: The Pirates themselves have a long, storied history. Unfortunately, this park opened at a bad time in their history, and at a time when Pittsburgh was really becoming more of a football town. This park was built small, but even so, attendance has been low. Luckily, it's a nice enough park not to need great attendance. The Pirates have performed poorly here.

Location: Well...I guess it's o.k. No. Actually, this is one of the best views possible for a ballpark. The bridge, the skyline, the river, the hills of Pennsylvania...those don't come in combination very often, and this park includes all of them. The walk to the park can take time, as it requires crossing a fairly narrow bridge, but once inside, the view makes the park.

Atmosphere: It isn't great. Crowds are small, but the fans that do come are pretty good baseball fans. Occasionally the Pirates will draw big crowds, and on those nights, this is a very fun place to be.

Aesthetics: Outside, it is beige stone. It is unique, and it does look nice. Inside, the seats are blue. It seems strange they would choose blue when the team's colors are black and yellow. The field is nice, but I think the infield dirt is too light a shade. The green of the outfield walls is a little lighter green than most parks, so that is nice. Other than the view and the ramps in left, there aren't really any unique features in this park, but when you have that view, what more do you need?

Worst seat

Top of section 133 in left field: PNC Park is so often praised for its sightlines it is amazing to see seats like these. Most of fair territory is visible, unless one sits against the edge of the section closest to the main seating bowl. Then home plate is partially obstructed. 350 feet from home, the seats in this section are so gently angled and so low to the ground that heads in front of a fan can obstruct an already terrible view.