I managed to make it to Pittsburgh yesterday to catch a ballgame at PNC Park. Unfortunately, the temperature at game time was 93 degrees with uncomfortably high humidity, and I ended up having to leave in the third inning when I began to experience the early stages of heat exhaustion (though I was there long enough to get a sunburn). That was probably just as well, because the parking garage I was in on 6th Street near Ft. Duquesne Blvd across the Allegheny River would have been a nightmare to get out of. Still, for at least a little while, I got to enjoy a Sunday afternoon at the ol' ball park with 22,221 of my new closest friends.
Having to leave the game early was a bummer, especially after making the 2 1/2-hour drive, but I was really less interested in the game than the stadium. Pittsburgh was playing Arizona, and since I care not a whit about either team, I spent most of my time checking out the stadium. While PNC Park isn't one of my favorites, it does have a lot going for it, and it seems a good match for Pittsburgh. It's been said that in real estate, the three most important things are location, location, and location. Well, you couldn't ask for a much better location than the banks of the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh. It's certainly the prettiest location for a stadium that I've seen. (Home plate is 443' 4" from the Allegheny, though I'm not certain any player has reached it yet.) If the game isn't doing it for you, you can rent kayaks just beyond the left field bleachers.
PNC Park is a bit smaller than most parks, with a seating capacity of 38,496. This gives the ballpark an intimacy that most Major League Baseball venues lack. It's a comfortable place to watch a ballgame, and it didn't look as if there's a bad seat in the house. Best of all, the ticket prices aren't bad. I paid $27 (before service charges) for an infield box seat, and I was sitting perhaps 25 rows behind home plate. Not bad.
USA Today did a great piece a couple years ago on PNC Park and what it takes to keep it running. For someone like myself who's fascinated by stadia, it was a interesting behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to get PNC Park ready for game day. It's an operation that's humming almost literally 24/7 during the season.
I've got some good pictures, but since I left my USB cable back in Portland, I'll have to wait to share them until after I'm back home. Trust me, though; while PNC Park isn't my favorite place to watch a baseball game, it's without a doubt still a fun place to be. The walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge over the Allegheny River makes up for the fact that Pittsburgh really hasn't adequately sorted out the parking situation. From what I could see, most of the parking in the downtown area is in older, poorly designed garages that aren't really designed to handle a game day crowd
I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw of Pittsburgh, though I have to admit that seeing it on a sunny June Sunday afternoon might have skewed things just a wee bit. Seeing the city on a grey, snowy January morning might just put a different spin on it for me. Still, from a topographical standpoint, Pittsburgh really is a beautiful city. You have the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers meeting to form the Ohio River in downtown Pittsburgh, plus the city is built on some very rugged and beutiful terrain.
I didn't see enough of downtown to really get a good read on it, but what I did see seemed pretty typical for an older, Eastern city. Older, tighter, and not really designed for our modern automobile-based culture, downtown Pittsburgh feels a bit like eight pounds stuffed into a five-pound sack.
Of course, four hours in a city doesn't begin to qualify me to pass judgement, but I was impressed with what I saw, and Pittsburgh was not at all what I expected. I don't necessarily know that I'd want to live there, but I'd imagine it has a lot of good things to offer...and it would have been nice to have more than four hours to find out.
The drive into the city on I-279 impressed me as being similar to the drive into Belgrade, Serbia- rugged, heavily-wooded terrain that manages to hide the people and buildings beneath the canopy. The drive from Cleveland to Pittsburgh was pleasant and uncomplicated...and short. Two-and-a-half hours one way on my one day off was a good investment. I got to cross another ballpark off my list, I got another Starbucks city mug for my collection, and I got to see a city I'd never been to before. Even with the heat exhaustion, it was a great day...and one that I'll remember for a long time. Not a bad way to spend my one day off, all things considered.
If I end up back in Cleveland this summer, I hope to have the option of going to Comerica Park in Detroit (a 2 1/2-hour drive) or Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati (a four-hour drive). Now if I can just figure out a way to get to Yankee Stadium before the end of the season....
