PNC Park

The Brewers finally won a series there. Of course the one game they lost was the one I attended. But perhaps my presence in the park spread some good karma that bolstered the team on to the next two victories. Probably not, but it's a nice theory.

And it's a very nice park. I arrived early and parked across the river, wanting to walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge, as I'd seen so many fans doing when I watched the games on television. Not to mention that it's much less expensive to park in a garage across the river and walk. It's also a treat to see the great views of downtown Pittsburgh from the bridge.

I take a leisurely stroll across the bridge, and set out in search of the will call window to pick up my ticket. As it turns out, I was able to print out my ticket from a self-serve kiosk just outside the left field entrance. This was very convenient, as there was quite a line outside the manned ticket windows.

My seat was on the other side of the field from where I printed my ticket, so I took that as an opportunity to check out the outside of the stadium. Patio tables offered outside seating for the restaurants lined up along the East side of the building, and for a moment, I forgot it was a baseball stadium.

I walked completely around the building, to the entrance closest to my seat, and the views from the West side of the building were just as spectacular as those from the East side. My ticket is scanned, and then I'm technically inside the park, but I'm still outside. That's because the gate through which I entered provides access to the riverwalk that runs behind the stadium.

Of course, there were no signs indicating which direction I should go to get to my seat, so I was walking blind for a while. I finally found signs at the top of the stairs as I entered the lower level concourse in right field.

I made my way down to the field and watched some batting practice. I was surprised that not one Brewer player came over to the side of the field to greet the fans, some of whom, like myself, had traveled from Milwaukee. I always thought it would be easier to talk to the players, get autographs, etc., on a road trip because there would be fewer fans for them to deal with, but apparently not.

After batting practice, I decided to check out more of the park. I walked around the lower level concourse and marveled at the food selections, but was even more impressed by the area provided in which to eat the wide variety of food.



At Miller Park, when you hit the concourse area on the lower level, you can go no further than the vendors and restrooms. At PNC Park, however, the concourse extends beyond the vendors to an outdoor picnic area, complete with views of downtown and the Allegheny River, and decorated with twinkle lights. It was somewhat similar to the beer garden outside Friday's at Miller Park, but much larger, and simply provided a very nice place to sit and eat.

After my little tour, I made my way back to my seat, which was very good, and watched the game. Those of you reading this already know how it turned out, so I won't bother rehashing it here. The between-inning entertainment was fun, and the scoreboard also included closed captioning for the hearing impaired, which I thought was a nice touch. I also got to experience what life is like for baseball fans who don't have a retractable roof when it started raining in the 7th inning. As the locals ran for cover under the concourse, I simply donned my rain coat and continued to watch the game. For once the weather channel was accurate, and I had come prepared!

Instead of racing sausages, PNC Park has racing pierogies. The race starts on the big screen, and shows cartoon images of the pierogies racing through downtown. Then the "live action" pierogies enter the park at the right field corner and race to the edge of the visitor's dugout. Not nearly as exciting as our sausages.

After the game, the Brewer fans were once again disappointed as the players quickly retreated into the clubhouse. A few stayed behind to sign balls for the kids, though, which I thought was very nice seeing as how they had just lost.

All in all, I had a great time at PNC Park, in spite of the final outcome on the scoreboard. It truly is a gorgeous ballpark, and I look forward to returning. To see all of my photos from PNC Park, just click here, or on the link to the right. Until next time, go Brewers!