BRADENTON, Fla. — Pirates owner Bob Nutting said ticket sales have not taken a serious hit because of the sluggish national economy.

“Our season-ticket renewal rate is slightly higher than it was last year,” Nutting said Saturday. “We’re very pleased with the support we’re getting from the fans”

Nutting added that sales of new season-ticket plans “are doing extremely well.”

Nutting did not divulge specific sales figures.

Chevrolet recently pulled its annual sponsorship, which was worth at least $500,000 when PNC Park opened in 2001. When asked if the Pirates have made up the loss, Nutting said only that a plan was in place to recoup the funding.

“We need to make up for the big sponsors (lost) with a number of smaller ones,” Nutting said. “It’s exactly what the newspaper industry is doing as it loses larger advertisers.”

Nutting is attending Pirates spring training camp this weekend with a group of corporate sponsors. The Pittsburgh-Tribune Review is one of the franchise’s corporate partners.

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