Lawmakers beg Pirates to increase payroll in letter to Bob Nutting

Imagine a professional sports team being so bad that it's actually a drain on the local economy.

The Pittsburgh Pirates reached this new level of mediocrity this week when a report released Wednesday by Pennsylvania's Independent Fiscal Office revealed the ugly truth about the team's economic impact.

In short, it's not good.

Researchers estimated the economic impact of total spending at $546 million, but they also said that this number could skyrocket if the team posted a better record. The majority of Pirates seasons over the past few decades have ended in more losses than wins – and that's putting it lightly.

The report found the three best years for game attendance at PNC Park in Pittsburgh were 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Pirates also had win percentages between 54% and 60% during these seasons, while payroll ranged from $90 to $124 million, the highest of the seasons studied from 2012 to 2023. Attendance, wins and payroll dropped off in the years after 2015, with payroll bottoming out at $76 million in 2023.

(The three seasons with the highest payroll were also the only three seasons in the last three decades in which the Pirates have qualified for the postseason. Coincidence? We think not.)

Pirates need a better on-field product to have a more positive economic impact, lawmakers say

In response the the results of the study, two Pennsylvania state lawmakers did what Pirates fans have been doing for years: call on team owner Bob Nutting to increase spending on player salaries.

To add insult to injury, State Reps. Tim Bonner, R-Mercer/Butler and Jim Gregory, R-Blair illustrated just how far the Pirates lagged behind by comparing them to their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies.

For the Phillies, the study found that “economic activity related to team operations and fan spending generated $970 million in statewide spending, supported 5,400 full-time equivalent jobs, and $45 million in state taxes.” The Pirates, meanwhile, generated “$546 million in statewide spending, supported 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs, and $22 million in state taxes.”

The bottom line? You get what you pay for, and Nutting and the Pirates are only paying enough for a shoddy on-field product.

“The study says that if we could even become mediocre … it would have a significant economic impact,” Bonner said (via Renatta Signorini of TribLIVE). “Fans would come back to support the Pirates.”

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