The New Pride of the Allegheny

A statue of Honus Wagner, lower left, adorns the home-plate entrance.

The 6th, 7th, and 9th Street bridges over the Allegheny are painted yellow, like the team colors.

Features include a spiral walkway in left field from which fans can watch the game.

Chronological Tour: Stop 202

• Location: Federal and Gen. Robinson streets, Pittsburgh, Pa. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2001
• Home team: Pittsburgh Pirates, Major League Baseball (2001-present)
• Capacity: 38,365

Rating: 4 baseballs

The most charming feature of PNC Park is one thing the old park didn’t have: a view out of the park. Fans, especially in the upper deck, can watch boat and barge traffic along the Allegheny River. Aside from the fans in the right-field bleachers, just about all the spectators can see the Pittsburgh skyline across the river. Three nearly identical bridges, all painted in Pirates (and Steelers) gold, cross the river nearby and are also visible.

Other features include several stairwells and a spiral ramp from which spectators can watch the game, and an upper deck that is as close to the action as any since the late, lamented Tiger Stadium.

Pittsburgh is one of the smallest markets in Major League Baseball, so they deliberately built their park with fewer than 40,000 seats. This park may fill the city’s baseball needs for many years to come.