Not All New Ballparks are a Good Idea

Wow. Never thought I’d be typing these words.

You see, I grew up during what might be considered the worst era in the history of baseball parks, or should I say grotesque stadiums, or should I say megalithic domes. Most accurately, there was a push during the 60’s and 70’s to build multi-use ballparks with cement exteriors and interiors that were about as inviting as a the inside of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Then some genius tried to improve on the whole disaster by slapping a concrete roof on top of these ashcans to give fans of the grand old game the feeling of being entombed in concrete. The dome trend continued throughout the 70’s and 80’s, and even into the early 90’s.

These were the multi-use stadiums, the cookie-cutters, the mega-domes. Great for football, great for Monsters of Rock shows, great even for Monster Truck Rallies. You get the point: these monster stadiums were positively disasterous for baseball.

But then came the 90’s. What we experienced since the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yard is nothing short of a ballpark renaissance. Over the last decade and a half, every city with a ball team has rushed to build beautiful, quirky, and cozy little baseball only ballfields within the confines city that harken back to yesteryear. Old time baseball atmosphere inside and out. Intimate ballparks with all the modern amenities.

A little Fenway Park of our own – right here in River City.

For a while, it felt as if the world were realigning. Indoor Baseball was out, outdoor baseball was in. Astroturf was out, natural grass in. Dugouts at field level on top of the concrete were out, dugouts that were actually dug out of the ground were in, well all expcept for Minnesota. And baseball was in the process of being made whole again. All seemed right with the world. That is, until the owners of the Pittsburgh showed us all how badly they could screwed up the party.

The owners of the Pirates built perhaps the best retro ballpark of them all in PNC Park. It’s a beauty. It’s a gem. You should come and see it. They bought into the urban ballpark renaissance hook, line, and sinker. They only forgot one thing – to keep somebody around who can actually throw a decent sinker.

You see, the problem in Pittsburgh has changed from "we need a new ballpark to field a competitive team" to this: the ownership group has dedicated themselves to marketing PNC Park as a venue for its own sake, and not as a place where competitive baseball might actually occur. They make their money selling ballpark treats and packing the seats for fireworks nights and bobblehead givaways.

What so wrong with that? I’m glad you asked. The result of turning a profit in a beautiful ballpark even when the team stinks has led to the owners caring much more about putting asses in the seats than they do about winning. They have allowed the team and its fans to have suffered through its 15th straight losing season. This is an abomination on any level. But the owners of the Pittsburgh Pirates simply put do not care.

Why should they? It's actually part of their business plan.

Plenty of people will come to PNC Park this year. They’ll come from western PA, eastern OH, and southwestern NY. They’ll road trip in or catch a game while in town on business or visiting family. Indians fans from Cleveland who can’t find a ticket to the Jake will come. Yankees fans and Yankees haters will crawl out of the woodwork as the team from the Bronx comes to Pittsburgh for the first time in 48 years. People will come to the game because on a warm summer night in the “Burgh” losing baseball is better than no baseball. And by all reports, PNC is a beautiful ballpark to watch the Pirates lose in.

Which would you rather have, a team that wins championships that plays in a crappy stadium, or a team that can’t hope to compete that plays in a beautiful green baseball cathedral on the banks of the Allegheny River?