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SHOWCASE:
PNC Park Hits A Grand Slam
Despite political and financial wranglings, Pittsburgh's new baseball field comes in on time and on budget.

By Heidi Schwartz

Back in 1994, the city of Pittsburgh was faced with a dilemma: build a new baseball park to replace Three Rivers Stadium, or else say goodbye to a tradition that spanned more than a century-the Pittsburgh Pirates. Recognizing the importance of this legacy, Kevin McClatchy arrived on the scene as a potential buyer in 1995 and vowed to keep the team in town. He promised to deliver a new stadium in order to allow the franchise to survive in the competitive world of professional baseball.

It's About The Money

Unfortunately, the task of building a new park was easier said than done. Jim Plake, vice president of finance and administration for the Pittsburgh Pirates recalls, "PNC Park was part of a much larger effort to create a regional destination plan. This would include three buildings: PNC Park, Heinz Field (home of Pittsburgh's professional football team); and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (for more on the Convention Center, visit the "Showcase" portion of www.TodaysFacilityManager.com). All three projects involved $1 billion in financing."

But after voters rejected a measure that would increase sales tax to pay for the venture, the plan appeared to be doomed. Fortunately, Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy knew that in order to have significant status as an American city, Pittsburgh needed to retain its professional baseball club. Out of necessity, the $1 billion was raised through a strategy that tapped into the existing 1% county sales tax.

From Fast Track To Warning Track

Design discussions on the project started taking place late in 1996, even before the financial aspects were decided. Plake says, "The whole time we were getting together the financing, much of the design was going on behind the scenes. We started construction in April 1999, and our first game was April 9, 2001."

L.D. Astorino (LDA), the architect-on-record for PNC Park, kept the fast track project moving forward by applying the design-build method. This unconventional approach used checks and balances among the architect (Pittsburgh-based LDA), the designer (Kansas City, MO-based Helmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum/HOK), and the construction company (a joint venture between Pittsburgh-based Dick Corporation and Barton Malow with offices in Baltimore, MD).

"The park sprang to life from plans drawn throughout the world and fed into fabricating computers. At times, it was a 24-hour day operation." ("The Political Struggle Over Financing PNC Park Went Into Extra Innings," by Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 15, 2001, www.post-gazette.com/pirates/20010415pncbuildtext9.asp.)

Dennis DaPra, vice president of PNC Park operations and facilities management explains, "Design-build is uncommon for a project of this kind, but we had faith in our team. McClatchy and our CEO at the time allowed us [facilities management] to sit in on meetings with the architects, designers, and contractors, and that really kept the ball rolling."

Capturing The Spirit Of Pittsburgh

From the beginning, members of the team had a distinct vision: to create a classic style ballpark that embraced the progressiveness of the city. As a Pittsburgh-based organization, LDA had a special awareness of what would work and what wouldn't.

DaPra recalls, "HOK spent a long time driving around with LDA folks, Pirate officials, and city officials to determine what gives Pittsburgh its identity: the rivers, the steel, the glass. So they incorporated a lot of steel and glass in the ballpark. There was even an effort to use local resources in the construction of the park." Eventually, DaPra says, "Everybody agreed on a single goal: to capture a bit of the old Forbes Field [the home of the Pirates before Three Rivers Stadium was built] in a two-tiered facility similar to Wrigley Field." The new Pirates home has architectural flourishes of Forbes Field that lend a touch of nostalgia. The series of masonry archways and decorative terra cotta tiled pilasters capture the charm of the club's former home of 61 years.

The limestone exterior is one-of-a-kind in the major leagues, and it serves as a contrast to the red brick used in most new ballparks. DaPra asserts, "The architects had been involved with other stadiums and learned things from those experiences, but every building isn't always the same. Our philosophy operated differently, so we changed the dynamics a little bit."

In conjunction with the changing dynamic, one of the greatest challenges for DaPra was communication. "We really needed to explain our thoughts carefully," he says, "if we wanted something specific. After all, we would be in charge of operating the building efficiently and effectively once everybody packed up and moved on to a new project."

"For instance," DaPra recalls, "we had to lobby to get others to understand why a command post was necessary for us to run the building. There were some disagreements on where it should be, or why we even needed it, but it's really the hub of our operations during events and ball games."

In the end, DaPra's team benchmarked other ballparks and sports facilities "as we were going through the design process, but I don't know of any facility that could have served our purposes better," he says.

The Grass Is Greener

The final design for PNC Park combines the best features of yesterday's ballparks with the latest in fan and player amenities and comfort. During one of the first exhibition games at the stadium, former General Manager Cam Bonifay said, "if the fans don't enjoy this, I don't know what they will enjoy."

Designed to fit within the existing city grid, the park's prime location takes advantage of scenic vistas of the downtown skyline and riverfront. It also provides easy access for pedestrians crossing the Roberto Clemente bridge from downtown, as well as those arriving from the riverwalk. On game days, the bridge is closed off to vehicular traffic and spectators are met by a dynamic interactive retail/restaurant and sports pavilion beyond right field, with attractions for all ages.

PNC Park looks nothing like the old Three Rivers Stadium (leveled on February 11, 2001), and it incorporates many of the desirable traits the old stadium lacked: a grass field, good sight lines, and seats close to the action. (Because of its intimate design, the highest seat in the park is just 88 feet from the field.) Rather than copying the Pirates' black and gold color scheme inside the new park, it is the tan-colored limestone and blue steel that stand out.

The Best Ballpark In America

As far as the fans and the guests are concerned, PNC Park is a clean, safe, and enjoyable facility. DaPra says, "We have been very fortunate. Because it's a new facility, we have a state-of-the-art security system. There was a conscious decision to keep 24 hour operations in house, so we don't contract security out. These employees are Pirate employees, and they're trained to roll into our emergency response plan if necessary."

Fortunately, DaPra did not have to spend much more on tightened security in spite of recommendations for public gathering places. "We have added some cameras and some other technology that ties into our current system, but nothing compared to what we would have had to do in an older park," he explains.

At the end of last season, PNC Park was named ESPN's "Page Two" Best Ballpark in America based on everything from cleanliness to the architecture. At the root of its success is DaPra's insistence on preventive maintenance. It's something his team feels strongly about, especially in terms of cleaning.

"We power wash following every game, so we don't have to play catch up. If you leave things go and people get the impression you're slacking, it's almost impossible to gain their business again. It's practically impossible to change peoples' perceptions.

"Our ownership and management team recognizes that we have to throw dollars at certain things. We have to be efficient and smart when we do it, but the cleanliness and the friendliness of the ballpark are two critical elements in being successful. Outside of the team's performance, it's critical."

Plake concludes, "We've completed three seasons, and we have not had to sit down as a group internally and say, 'You know what? We really have to change this.' There are no major changes planned, and we're real happy with the park. Our fans are real happy and excited about coming to the ballpark also."

Perhaps the strongest inspiration for PNC Park's design is the legacy of the Pirates themselves. Few cities can boast of a 100+ year relationship with the same major league club. Pittsburgh deserves nothing less than a classic park that will enthrall fans for generations to come.

PROJECT INFORMATION:

Project: PNC Park.
Location: Pittsburgh, PA.
Function: New ballpark for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Owner: City of Pittsburgh Sports & Exhibition Authority.
Manager: Dennis DaPra, VP of PNC Park Operations and Facilities Management, Pittsburgh Pirates.
Square Footage: 970,000 (seating for 38,365 patrons).
Funding: Various private, city, county, state, and federal sources.
Budget: $220 million (PNC Park portion of funding).
Timetable: 27 months.
Architectural Team/Landscape Architect: LDA (Dennis L. Astorino, AIA, president/COO, and Jeffrey P. Slusarick, RA, senior designer) and HOK S+V+E (bridging architect).
Electrical/Mechanical Engineer And Lighting Designer: M-E Engineers.
Structural Engineer: Thornton-Tomasetti.
General Contractor/Construction Manager: Dick Corporation/Barton Malow.

PRODUCT INFORMATION:

Furniture: David Edward, Falcon, Knoll, Bernhardt, Bright, National Upholstering, Shelby Williams.
Wall Coverings: Innovations, JM Lynne, Bolta.
Flooring Systems: Daltile, Crossville, Mannington, Dodge Regupol, Tuflex.
Carpet: Durkan Hospitality, Bentley, Monterey. Ceilings: Armstrong, Chicago Metallic.
Fabrics/Textiles/Upholstery: Designtex, Paul Brayton, Carnegie, Kravet, Jhane Barnes, Ralph Lauren.
Light Fixtures: Chapman Lamps, Architectural Area Lighting, Cornelius.
Sports Lighting: General Electric.
Surfacing: PPG, Ralph Lauren.
Acoustics/Soundmasking: Conwed.
Movable Walls: Hufcor.
Window Treatments: Electro Shade.
Rest Room Fixtures: American Standard.
Security System: Simplex.
Smart Cards/ID Badging: HID.
Alarms: Sentrol.
Sensors: Sentrol.
HVAC Equipment: Trane, Bell & Gosset, Titus, Cook.
Building Management Systems/Services: Trane Tracer Summit BMS.
Power Supply Equipment: Cutler-Hammer.
Windows/Curtainwalls/Skylights: Skyline, Traco.
Glazing: Perilstein Dist. Corp., Schott Corp.
Elevators/Escalators: Schindler.