PNC Park and Heinz Field might be the last of a certain breed of stadium projects - stadiums that were largely paid for with public money.
Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, which opened in 2000, was among the first of the new breed of parks to be built with private funds. That business model could be duplicated in Minnesota, where an Alabama businessman is in negotiations to buy the Minnesota Twins and is promising to build a new, privately funded ballpark.
Allegheny County taxpayers paid for $211.8 million of the $259.6 million PNC Park and $157.6 million of the $280.8 million Heinz Field. Total costs for the stadiums have not been finalized, but Sport & Exhibition Authority spokesman Greg Yesko said because the teams are responsible for any cost overruns, the public's share will not increase.
In exchange for their investments, the teams received revenue-generating machines: seat license fees, concessions and the ability to charge higher ticket prices. For the Pirates, PNC Park provided record attendance in a season where the team lost 100 games.
Public leaders who supported the stadiums have said the region has benefited with increased development on the North Shore, particularly on and near Federal Street, east of PNC Park. The Steelers and Pirates will begin working on their option agreement this year to develop the land between PNC Park and Heinz Field.
The deal calls for incremental development of 12.4 acres on land once occupied by Three Rivers Stadium over the next 12 years. Construction on the first parcel is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2003. The teams are keeping quiet about the final plans, but all along have stated they would be looking at a mixed-use development that includes housing, retail and office space.
Steelers Vice President Art Rooney II said last month that the teams are focusing on a short list of less than five potential developers. The developer is expected to be named this spring.
"They'll put together a whole package for the development," Rooney said.
Public leaders in other cities haven't bought the economic impact argument for subsidizing stadiums. Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has outright refused to pay for stadiums, even when it meant the Twins could be lost to Major League Baseball's plan to eliminate two teams.
The next challenge for the Pirates is to draw as many fans in PNC Park's second season, when many fans have already visited the park and might need a quality baseball team to lure them back. Drawing fans isn't a problem for the Steelers: the team has a 10-year waiting list for its season tickets and is coming off of a 13-3 season.
In December, Major League Baseball announced that the Pirates lost $5.9 million, despite the new stadium. Commissioner Bud Selig testified before Congress, hoping to gain the legislators' support for changes that will hopefully bring more parity to the game. At the time, Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy said the new stadium had helped move the Pirates off a list of teams that baseball is considering eliminating.
"When I bought this team, we said two things needed to happen. We needed a new ballpark, and our industry had to reform," McClatchy said. "Without (PNC Park), I would be sitting next to Gov. (Mark) Schweiker at the hearings talking about why the Pirates shouldn't be contracted."
