Is PNC Park Big Enough to Support Pirates?

The Pirates set a PNC Park attendance record in 2014

When PNC Park opened it was a somber day– the greatest leader in Pirates history passed away.  In all the joy surrounding the gorgeous park, a question persisted in my mind.   Is PNC Park big enough to support the Pirates?  Everyone knows that Three Rivers Stadium was massive for baseball.  PNC Park was a complete 180–cozy in comparison, putting to rest those nightmare scenes of large sections of seats covered at Three Rivers during the biggest postseason games in the 1990’s.

The boutique ball park that hugs the Allegheny River was built for just $270 million dollars in an amazingly fast 24-month work schedule that has been called the apple of baseball park lovers eyes.  The riverside concourse put it over the top making it a park that some have called one of the best in Major League Baseball.   ESPN.com even called it the best.

The design is striking with two-tiers and a warm feel which was of course, inspired by Forbes Field where so many magical moments happened in Pittsburgh Pirates history.  It is created from sandstone and blue steel with a take-your-breath-away view of downtown Pittsburgh, highlighted by a Pittsburgh staple–a bridge–now just any bridge, but The Great One’s bridge.  

The Roberto Clemente Bridge is perfect for Pirates fans who celebrate big victories in adventurous ways.

Statues of the Great One and Willie Stargell, who passed away on the day PNC Park opened, stand tall along Federal Street.  It’s impossible to walk past them without realizing that baseball rules the Steel City.

The reason that baseball rules is because what Stargell, Clemente, and those who played long before them, did between the lines, but it also was because of their loyalty to the city.   Off the field, their efforts were exemplary for humanity.   Clemente is Pittsburgh.  Pops is the definition of sports in Pittsburgh. about.

Sep 20, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates fans hold up signs cheering on the Pirates against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

At the time PNC Park opened, the idea of a cozy ball park seemed hotter than energy independence does now.  By reducing the number of uncomfortable, built-by-the-lowest-bidder-seats, the demand would skyrocket.  The pricing would increase and in the end, it would all balance, thanks in part to the support of taxpayers and baseball loving fans of the greatest country in the galaxy.

But something bad happened.  The team never won.  The gem of the North Shore never had the opportunity to shine in the September sun.  The players were bad, the front office, worse.  Another poor management decision was to tie winning to the price of tickets.  It all added up to a lot of empty seats which were kept at the same price for years, deeply discounted and tied to marketing plans based around everything but the players on the field.  The losing caused as much frustration as the business plan.

And if you believe the media driven history, it nearly cost the city it’s beloved baseball team.

So what happens now?  The Pirates are loaded with young talent both on and off the field.  Bob Nutting is truly blessed with baseball minds that never put on a jersey.  Men and women that have turned around baseball in Pittsburgh.  Don’t be confused, baseball isn’t back as Scott Miller of CBS tweeted today, it never left.

Baseball is Pittsburgh, baseball has always been Pittsburgh.  Mismanagement just caused it take the longest hiatus in modern sports history.  The lost generation is back because their elders remember those good times at the ballpark.

Now that it’s “back’ or whatever you call the mania in Pittsburgh, the dilemma facing the Pirates is a Sports Management professor’s dream.  What in the world do the Pirates do to fund an organization that can identify, develop, and put talent on the field that will be in the postseason the past two years despite the long odds?  What does a small market, small ball park organization do to fund baseball coaches and scouts that can repeatedly get pitchers off a scrap heap and turn them around to be successful pitchers again?

May 11, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates fans cheer after an RBI single by third baseman Pedro Alvarez (not pictured) against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning at PNC Park. The Cardinals won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pirates need revenue.  But the business model inherited by this current ownership and management team as well as the one that

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MLB has created doesn’t do nearly enough to allow the Pirates to creatively draft or create ways to counteract the sizable revenue sources of the largest market teams.  We’ve thought about this and simply don’t have an answer–and regardless, even if Coonelly and the Pirates could double the size of PNC Park, it still would do little to generate enough revenue to compete with the large markets in Major League Baseball.

So unfazed by the reality of MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates President Frank Coonelly set a goal before the season for the Bucs to hit 2.5 million in attendance in 2014.  The swagger came from the fact that he knew the team under his employ could come damn close to making it happen.

And they nearly did.

Kudos to the Pirates sales team on a great season–they are the unsung heroes and they are awesome people too.  The Pirates nearly hit Coonelly’s lofty mark despite many unpopular moves and better said–non-moves, but still they set a season attendance record for PNC Park. The Pirates drew 2,442,564 fans.   The team sold out PNC Park 23 times tying the record they set during the magical 2013 season when the club ended 20 years of ignominy.

Sep 20, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle (13) smiles in the dugout before playing the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When PNC Park opened in 2001, the Pirates drew 2,436,139 thirsty-for-a-World-Series-title-that-never-came-Pirates fans.   Fast forward to 2014 and the Pirates have won 101 games during the past two years.  During the pre game show on ROOT Sports Clint Hurdle said this

"So many people involved in this process, the fans most of all. But the rekindling, the reigniting, the re-bonding we talked about coming in the door back in ’11. It was sparse — April, May, June. We started playing some better ball, people started coming out…”"

After the 1-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, Hurdle took the microphone and addressed the Sunday faithful at PNC Park:

Here is a link to the video of Hurdle, apologies, we couldn’t embed.  VIDEO OF HURDLE.  Hurdle is the mouthpiece for the Pirates and started the video by saying this:

"On behalf of our entire organization, we want to thank our fans….that have shown up #BucStrong"

It was a cool moment.  We can see the attendance record being broken again in 2015, especially considering it took forever for the Pirates to hire a marketing director to replace Lou DePaoli this year and still did remarkable things.  Maybe winning is the best marketing executive VP after all?

Anyway, the bottom line for me is this, the Pirates had opportunities to raise ticket prices in the past, but were too cowardly to pull the trigger.  So don’t be too concerned about their small market cries–being in a small market is one thing, being in a small market and being foolish is something completely different.

Oct 1, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates fan Mike Breen holds up a sign after the National League wild card playoff baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park. The Pirates won 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pirates vastly under priced postseason tickets last season–probably a directive from the league office.  The organization is always concerned about public opinion and obviously those decisions when viewed over time are great for their fan base, but they aren’t great for a team that needs cash in order to re-sign a player like Russell Martin this off season.

And then [insert great player here] in 2015.

It’s endless.  The Pirates have great players–keeping all of them will be impossible.    A new tv deal will help, but it will pale in comparison with the big boys.

One would think that keeping the players the organization would like to keep only seems fair.  But right now, Major League Baseball isn’t about fair.  It’s about large market teams.

So perhaps the PNC Park of the Future initiative that was started this year will help create a phenomenal PNC Park, but in the end, unless it revolutionizes the ball park experience and fills up those chilly seats during the middle of the week in April and May, will it really matter?

The Pirates need revenues.

Big revenues.

Especially if they want to compete with the upstart Chicago Cubs and corporate beer fueled St. Louis Cardinals in the near future.

It only makes sense that the Pirates want to keep a player like Russell Martin, who has bloomed under their watch, but when all of the math is done at the end of the day, it seems very unlikely.  PNC Park just can’t support what the big players will offer Martin which could very well be a convoy of Brinks trucks.