HOSTILE TERRITORY: PNC Park

Hello and welcome to the Way Outta Here Podcast blog, a place for sharing visually compelling images to complement the show, plus additional stories that can't be or weren't shared on the podcast.

Today's edition is a handful of pictures from my recent trip to PNC Park in Pittsburgh. If you haven't already, check out the podcast here (also available on Google Podcasts with more options coming soon):

On July 30th, I made my 2nd visit to PNC Park in Pittsburgh. I gotta say, it's probably my favourite MLB stadium that I've visited so far. If not, it's at least in the top 3. One of the reasons I've come to appreciate it so much is the walkability from downtown Pittsburgh, which is a great place to spend the day before the ballgame. Unfortunately the Clemente Bridge was closed for renovations, so we had to walk a little further to cross the river via the Andy Warhol Bridge:

You can see the Clemente Bridge in the middle ground of the above photo. I'm hoping once the renovations are complete, they re-paint the bike lanes to match how they looked last year, when I actually rode across it several hours before the game:

Once across the river, we were greeted with a block party on Federal Street, just outside the stadium. It was full of standard street fair vendors, food, and adult beverages, plus live music:

And if you get there early enough, there are several restaurants including the North Shore Tavern and the fantastic Mike's Beer Bar to check out:

I chose to enter the park via the Third Base Gate. This is the view from the under cover concourse out there (a great spot to watch the game if it starts to drizzle):

One of the best reasons to get to the park early is to see the exhibits and learn about the history of the team if you're an out-of-towner. Did you know:

Another outfield view during batting practice:

For those of you who don't know, I am a vegetarian. My dietary preferences aren't plentiful around most stadiums in the US, but the park did have a few options. I chose a portobello burger this time around:

And Heinz ketchup for the fries. When in Pittsburgh...

As most stadiums have nowadays, PNC Park also has a kids area. I thought the view from here was quite enjoyable:

And then I saw something bizarre. A Crabfries stand in Pittsburgh:

Doesn't that feel a little blasphemous?

Moving on, as I was heading up to the upper deck to my seats, I found one of the tailgate lots that I'd like to visit one day in the future before a game, now that I've done most of the touristy downtown Pittsburgh stuff. This was on General Robinson St:

Before I went to my seats, I made sure to find one of my favourite baseball experiences, the scorecard:

Many thanks to the random traveling baseball fan wearing a Cubs jersey who snapped this photo for me on my way to my seat:

As you can probably see there, the view from up top is spectacular on a beautiful Summer evening. I struggle to find words to describe it, so I'll let the pictures do the talking:

The evening ended very pleasantly for myself and several thousand Phillies fans in attendance:

In the end, everybody walked away somewhat satisfied after we were treated to a spectacular fireworks display over the Allegheny River, just beyond the right field wall:

That's all for this time. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening, and check out PNC Park the next time you're passing thru Pittsburgh!