OME RUN!!!
That’s my quick review of the new PNC Park.
We did go to the game on Saturday, and yes, we left the Little One at
home. That was actually a good thing, since we were both chilly throughout
the game, and since it gave us a greater opportunity to wander around and
explore.
We took the Gateway Clipper over from Station Square – not exactly the
most cost-effective way of doing things (parking at Station Square was
$6 and round-trip tickets on the boat set us back another $10), but aesthetically,
it was the only way to go. Besides, it gave us a chance to wander
around the shopping center before getting to the ballpark. For some
reason, my wife decided to buy a lottery ticket out of a vending machine.
As I was telling her that I’ve never won as much as a free ticket (the
usual bottom prize in the Pennsylvania lottery), she pulled out a quarter,
scratched off her ticket, and won $2. Not content with that, she
bought another ticket with her winnings, and won another $1. Even
with the dinky prizes, the odds of winning twice in a row have to be pretty
slim. She was having such good luck that she should have played the
lottery that day.
Umm – oh. Never mind.
Anyway, going by boat was great. It takes you around the Point,
past the Steelers new and yet-unnamed stadium, under a bridge (don’t ask
me which one – I’ve lived here off-and-on for 22 years and I still don’t
know.) and up to the jewel of the Major Leagues, that haven of peanuts
and Cracker Jacks, PNC Park.
All right – I’m getting a little bit ridiculous now. But it is
a great-looking place. The outside is mostly done in limestone, which
gives it a very different, but classy look. Before you even arrive,
you can already see the scoreboard. The boat docks, and you go up
a flight of stairs though a nice, park-like setting (which will look even
nicer once they clean up from the construction a bit more).
It didn’t take me long to get annoyed, though. My wife and I traditionally
bring snacks when we go to ballgames – usually some kind of chips (this
time it was Chex Mix), some granola bars or Nutri Grains, and, without
question, Red Vines. We got up to the right-field gate and one of
the security goons checked our bag, and said: “Sorry, no food. You’ll
have to leave it outside.”
Now this would have been fine with me if that was actually their policy,
but it wasn’t. I had heard on the news more than once that you were
allowed to bring in food, with a few limitations (no glass bottles, no
booze, no truck-sized freezers). It took us three tries at three
different gates to find somebody with enough of a clue to actually let
us in. Actually, that wasn’t so bad, because it afforded us a great
view of the entire perimeter of the park. Once we were finally in,
I bought a program, mostly just so I could open up to the Ballpark Policies
section and validate myself by finding where it says that outside food
is permitted. Just in case, I’m bringing the program with me next
time….
I feel like I can give a very legit review of the park, because we walked
around the entire thing twice inside, including a trip to the upper level
even though our seats were on the bottom (section 103, if you care).
There were a few annoying things. The food is even more outrageously
priced than before, although there are places where you can get your money’s
worth – at the Familee BBQ, you can get a grilled chicken, beef, or pulled
pork barbeque sandwich, with baked beans and cole slaw for $7. It
was too much for me to eat – surprising, since it took almost 15 minutes
of standing in line drooling to get it. Some of the concourses are
too small for people to walk through, or at least too disorganized.
But overall, the place is amazing. I’ve never been to Forbes Field,
mostly since it was demolished before I was born, but I felt like I had
been transported back in time to there.
