Time to party: Penguins victory parade expected to draw 500K to Pittsburgh

Something unexpected always seems to happen when Pittsburghers gather Downtown to honor their championship sports teams.

Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich appears to be aware of that.

"I think for the most part we're prepared," Hissrich said in advance of Wednesday's victory parade for the Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The parade is expected to draw up to 500,000 people. That would be a record crowd for a Pittsburgh victory parade, surpassing the crowd of more than 400,000 that showed up for the Penguins' parade last year.

The National Weather Service doesn't know what to expect.

Meteorologist Rihaan Gangad said there's a 30 percent to 40 percent chance of rain during the parade.

"It's hit or miss," Gangad said. "If (a storm) does occur, there will be pretty heavy rain, lightning and wind."

Hissrich said heat is his biggest worry.

During last year's parade, Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services transported 12 people to the hospital and treated more than 100 on the street for heat-related ailments. Hissrich said he expects temperatures in 80s and high humidity when the event starts at 11 a.m.

"The biggest thing is make sure you're hydrated," he said. "Wear light clothes and bring three or four bottles of water."

The city will have 20 extra ambulances on hand along with a mobile hospital at Point State Park and several hundred police officers in the crowd.

Hopefully the medics and police won't be busy as they were in 1975, when the city threw a parade for the Steelers after they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX — their first of six championships. That year's parade, held on a Tuesday, was considered a success despite more than 100 arrests and at least eight injuries, partly because an impromptu celebration that erupted the night of the game resulted in more than 230 arrests and at least 69 injuries.

By comparison, the city reported making no Stanley Cup-related arrests and said one person was taken to a hospital with a head injury following the Penguins' series-clinching win on Sunday.

Commuters and Penguins fans driving into Downtown should be in the Golden Triangle and parked before 9 a.m., Hissrich said.

The city will close Downtown streets at 9 a.m., including Fort Pitt Bridge ramps to Liberty Avenue and the 10th Street Bypass, Grant Street, Boulevard of the Allies and Commonwealth Place at Point State Park. Nearly all Port Authority routes will be detoured Wednesday because of the parade.

While authorities have their plans in place, here's hoping the players don't stick too closely to a script: some of the most memorable events in past parades revolved around players' spontaneity.

After Steelers Super Bowl wins in 2006 and 2009, All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu thrilled fans and probably terrified his coaches by jumping into the crowd and body surfing.

In 1991, former Penguins player Phil Bourque uttered one of the great lines in the history of Pittsburgh championship celebrations when he told the crowd gathered after the franchise's first Stanley Cup win: "What do you say we take this down to the river and party all summer?"

Tom Fontaine and Bob Bauder are Tribune-Review staff writers.