9. PNC Park
For my sixth new ballpark of 2004, I drove to Pittsburgh, which is easily the closest major league city to Cleveland. I never made it to Three Rivers Stadium while it was open, and I specifically recall passing on a chance to see it be blown up. I almost regret the latter item more. Now that I've seen Cinergy Field implode, I strongly urge you to take any chance you get to watch the culmination of a major demolition project.
Mike & I drove down to PNC Park on Saturday, September 25 of 2004 to watch the Reds beat the Pirates 7-4. PNC Park was coming to the close of its third season hosting the Pirates. The Pirates were in the midst of an epic string of losing seasons where they did not finish above .500 from 1993 until 2013, and in fact only closer than 13 games behind once in that stretch. 2004 was no different, which probably explains why this late season game only filled barely 2/3 of the park. That's a shame, because PNC Park is arguably the best park I've ever been to.
A large portion of this is the view. You can see the Roberto Clemente Bridge and the Pittsburgh skyline out over the outfield wall, and on both of my visits this was accentuated by some gorgeous weather. The out of town scoreboards are the prettiest I've seen yet. I don't recall any one specific item that stood out beyond that, but the park as a whole just felt like it had a pleasant character in a way that very few other parks have. As a bonus, although the team was terrible when I was there, the small group of diehards in Pittsburgh are still pretty loud and enthusiastic.
A weird 'what just happened' moment was on our first visit. Mike and I got there early and had lunch at a sports bar across the street from the park. About 45 minutes before game time the street was suddenly filled with cheerleaders ranging in age from six to 23. Apparently there was some sort of cheerleading event at the park before the game, so a few brief moments there was nothing outside the park but cheerleaders for as far as the eye could see. That was weird, although not quite as weird as the dolls.
The second time I was there was also with Mike. He's a fan of the Phillies, so we drove down on Independence Day of 2005 to watch his team beat the Pirates like a drum. John came along too.
I haven't been back since, but this is not a slur on the park so much as an acknowledgement that
[a] Cleveland has an excellent park.
[b] Generally speaking, I'm not wild about the National League.
[c] The Pirates have mostly sucked, while the Indians have at least been entertaining.
I really should use the park as an excuse to do some exploration of Pittsburgh, so I'm sure I'll be back one day.
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
2PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
3 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
4 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
5 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
6 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
7 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
8 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
9 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
Mike & I drove down to PNC Park on Saturday, September 25 of 2004 to watch the Reds beat the Pirates 7-4. PNC Park was coming to the close of its third season hosting the Pirates. The Pirates were in the midst of an epic string of losing seasons where they did not finish above .500 from 1993 until 2013, and in fact only closer than 13 games behind once in that stretch. 2004 was no different, which probably explains why this late season game only filled barely 2/3 of the park. That's a shame, because PNC Park is arguably the best park I've ever been to.
A large portion of this is the view. You can see the Roberto Clemente Bridge and the Pittsburgh skyline out over the outfield wall, and on both of my visits this was accentuated by some gorgeous weather. The out of town scoreboards are the prettiest I've seen yet. I don't recall any one specific item that stood out beyond that, but the park as a whole just felt like it had a pleasant character in a way that very few other parks have. As a bonus, although the team was terrible when I was there, the small group of diehards in Pittsburgh are still pretty loud and enthusiastic.
A weird 'what just happened' moment was on our first visit. Mike and I got there early and had lunch at a sports bar across the street from the park. About 45 minutes before game time the street was suddenly filled with cheerleaders ranging in age from six to 23. Apparently there was some sort of cheerleading event at the park before the game, so a few brief moments there was nothing outside the park but cheerleaders for as far as the eye could see. That was weird, although not quite as weird as the dolls.
The second time I was there was also with Mike. He's a fan of the Phillies, so we drove down on Independence Day of 2005 to watch his team beat the Pirates like a drum. John came along too.
I haven't been back since, but this is not a slur on the park so much as an acknowledgement that
[a] Cleveland has an excellent park.
[b] Generally speaking, I'm not wild about the National League.
[c] The Pirates have mostly sucked, while the Indians have at least been entertaining.
I really should use the park as an excuse to do some exploration of Pittsburgh, so I'm sure I'll be back one day.
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
2PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
3 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
4 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
5 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
6 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
7 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
8 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
9 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041