PITTSBURGH - Pirates Chief Executive Officer Kevin McClatchy said today that if the Pirates don't get a new publicly funded ballpark within five years, the team will leave town. "PNC Park was built in 2001, and it's definitely showing its age," McClatchy said. "We need a new venue to be able to compete with newer parks, like the one in Philadelphia."McClatchy said it's time the Pirates moved back to a cavernous, multi-purpose stadium. "The thinking about what makes a ballpark good has changed drastically since PNC Park opened," he explained. "For example, when we built this thing, we thought grass was such a cool idea. Now we know that artificial turf is far superior. It's cost us thousands of dollars to get the damn grass stains out of the uniforms."
McClatchy also wants to eliminate the view of the city's skyline from the ballpark. "That's another idea that looked good on paper," he said. "The fact of the matter is that staring at the skyline is too distracting for the players."
"We didn't know any better, but Three Rivers Stadium did everything exactly right," said McClatchy. "Well, you live and learn."
McClatchy says that although he isn't counting his chickens just yet, he's already making plans for an implosion party for "when we tear down that dump, PNC Park."
