When they were told no, they put up their hands and signaled touchdown. (May or June, 1986) [25], In their first game after the All-Star Break in 1970, the Pirates opened the stadium against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, July 16; who won, 32. Advertisement. Sets of 2-3 Steel Seat Feet for Three Rivers Stadium Floor MOUNTING Seats from the former home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Three Rivers Stadium also hosted the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team for a single season each.[7][8]. Nothing. The park was not configured for baseball, so sightlines were not good. Despite the last-game loss, Three Rivers ended up being very, very good for the Piratesat least on the field, where they finished with a 1,324-1,081 record. On a chilly February morning in 2001, over 20,000 people picked out vantage points at a safe distance to watch Three Rivers Stadium implode to the ground, leaving a cloud of dust that drifted upon the Allegheny like a creeping fog bank. The team proudly released a chart of the loudest decibel level counts during each of Parkers at-bats in his first game back at Three Rivers as a member of the Reds. At the first game, the water fountains didnt work, access roads and parking lots hadnt been fully completed, and only 13 of 35 concession stands inside the stadium were operational. The only Pirate who wore a jersey for the very first game and this, the very last, was bench coach Richie Hebner, who started at third base in Three Rivers inaugural game, attracted ladies with his good looks and boos from everyone else for his subpar defense, and later criticized the stadium by stating, My fathers cemetery has more life in it than this ballpark. A crowd of 55,351, the largest ever to see a baseball game at Three Rivers, watched as the Bucs blew a late lead and bowed to the Chicago Cubs, 10-9. You could even throw in the University of Pittsburgh football team, which abandoned their own stadium on campus and borrowed Three Rivers for big games, most notably in a 1976 championship campaign featuring Heisman Trophy running back Tony Dorsett. The ballpark has a seating capacity of 41,500 with the main three tier grandstand stretching from the right field foul pole to home plate and down, and around the left field foul pole. Asset Location: 7500 Thomas Blvd Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208-2577 . Like all the other stadiums of its ilk and time, Three Rivers became an unattractive yet necessary link from ancient times to the modern age. This historical marker was erected in 2006 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. If the Pittsburgh Pirates sense that theyre being ignored by their faithful at PNC Park, they shouldnt take it personally; after all, the teams only competition isnt sitting in the visitors dugout. The look of the stadium, meanwhile, would be the responsibility of Deeter Ritchey Sipple (DRS), which drew up the beautiful downtown plaza Mellon Square and the highly acclaimed Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, the first sports structure with a retractable roof. boundtree continuing education; can you be charged under ucmj after discharge. (FlickrJoel Dinda). You can still find it prestigiously located near the corner of General Robinson Street and Tony Dorsett Way, five spaces in from a green trash bin, which itself stands just over the guardrail from. The prescript to Three Rivers Stadium is a familiar one: Aging ballpark, long ago gorgeous and glittering, is beginning to age beyond repair. [11][33][34], Three Rivers was the first multi-purpose stadium and the first in either the NFL or MLB to feature 3M's Tartan Turf (then a competitor to the dominant AstroTurf), which was installed for opening day. The stadium, set for use in late spring 1970, is the future home of the Pirates . Underneath the big furry costume was Kevin Koch, the Pirate Parrots first portrayerand, as it would infamously be revealed, a cocaine user and middleman between dealers and ballplayers in both clubhouses. Mark Loizeaux of Controlled Demolition, Inc. pushed the button that set off the 19-second implosion, while Elizabeth and Joseph King pushed the "ceremonial old fashioned dynamite plunger". The rubble of Three Rivers Stadium towers over passersby Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001 on the North Side. It hosted the World Series in 1971 and 1979 and the All-Star Game in 1974 and 1994. names for church food ministry three rivers stadium home plate location. [22] The stadium was named in February 1969 for its location at the confluence of the Allegheny River and Monongahela River, which forms the Ohio River. A Billy Graham Crusade took place at Three Rivers in June, 1993. three rivers stadium home plate location three rivers stadium home plate location. A two-story, concrete marker for Gate D is the only portion of Three Rivers Stadium still standing. Removed from downtown Pittsburghs choking smoke and untamed rivers, elegant Forbes Field was built in a vernal, cultural paradise on the outskirts of town, where three was the magic numberfrom three Pirates world titles to Babe Ruths last three homers to the last tripleheader to all those triples. . In the aftermath of his death, fans and reporters alike lobbied to have Three Rivers renamed after Clemente, but the effort never gained enough traction. The first game at Three Rivers Stadium was also the first for organist Vince Lascheid, beginning a tenure with the Pirates that would last through 2008eight years into the PNC Park era. Terry Bradshaw was a frequent target of boosbut his successors at the quarterback spot fared far worse. [14] The following season, the Pirates advanced to the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, County of Allegheny Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Southwestern Pennsylvania World War II Memorial. Three Rivers Stadium was simply not a good place to take in a game. Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. So the idea was to open it up and see the city.. Contents Three rivers stadium implosion february 11 2001 at 8 00 am And while the Bridge to Nowhere did get complete and got somewhere, some of the other promised access roads around the stadium never materialized. Three Rivers structural concrete was grounded down and recycled for nearby parking lots. Three Rivers Stadium: 1970-2000 Requiem for a ballpark. The Jumbotron scoreboard, which replaced the original board that extended below the upper deck behind center field, received a high bid of $475,000 from a Massachusetts company that carted it about for various events. Without a hitch, a 1985 Bruce Springsteen gig at Three Rivers drew 65,000, the largest gathering for any event at the stadium. A proposal for a new sports stadium in Pittsburgh was first made in 1948; however, plans did not attract much attention until the late 1950s. The stadium, which took more than 2 years to build at a cost of $55 million, seated 47,971 fans for baseball games, and 59,000 for football games. They slapped tarps in the upper reaches of the top deck to reduce capacity by 10,000; placed ads on the outfield walls; opened a caf behind the left-field fence, which had slats cut out so patrons could view the game; replaced the original red-and-gold seats with new ones painted in blue; and opened a full-scale restaurant, featuring two bars serving microbrews, near the southeast entrance with glass windows looking out towards downtown Pittsburgh. A jury awarded Jones $125,000, but it was reversed on appeal. Three Rivers Stadium * and N.N.L. The implosion of Three Rivers Stadium with the Fort Duquesne Bridge over the Allegheny River. Rivers Stadium Club Features Enjoy Chicago Dogs baseball from the comforts of the Rivers Stadium Club. [26][27] The team donned new uniform designs for the first time that day, a similar plan was for new "mini-skirts" for female ushers. Three Rivers Stadium stood alone, literally, as another cookie cutter, or concrete donut, or bowl. location, location, location. Much like the Pittsburgh Penguins would do with the site of Civic Arena, the Steelers retained development rights to the site of Three Rivers, and would later build Stage AE on portions of the site, as well as an office building that hosts the studios for AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, the headquarters of StarKist Tuna, and the regional headquarters of Del Monte Foods. They could even look to the outside and see downtown, the three rivers and the hills beyond. [37] Renovations for the start of the 1983 baseball season included replacing the Tartan Turf with AstroTurf, the center field Stewart-Warner scoreboard being removed and replaced with new seatingwhile a new Diamond Vision scoreboard with a White Way messageboard was installed at the top of the center field upper deckand the outfield fence being painted blue from the previous aqua. Three Rivers Stadium. Jul 18, 1998. Official fundraiser page for Pittsburgh Baseball HISTORY TRAIL, THREE RIVERS STADIUM HOME PLATE and Informational Marker As the development of the land. Losing the view of downtown was a bitter bill for Ritchey to swallow; he would ultimately call Three Rivers Stadium his biggest disappointment as an architect. The Panthers played their full home schedule there for the 2000 season, going 74. Can you believe its been 20 years since Three Rivers Stadium came crashing down? [11], In 1958, the Pirates sold Forbes to the University of Pittsburgh for $2 million ($18.8 million today). [28], During batting practice on that day, a stray foul ball hit a woman named Evelyn Jones in the eye while she was walking the stadium's concourse. The view from the top of Three Rivers Stadium during the first game played on July 16, 1970. Sunday 00:00 - 00:00. There was much initial praise for Three Rivers as a civic stadium meant to pull the Pirates and Steelers out of far more rustic times, but the compromised tedium many would ultimately slam it and other so-called cookie-cutter stadiums for was still hardly lost on some even as it doors opened for the first time. But the Steelers, benefitting from a generous NFL revenue sharing system badly lacking in MLB, played only 10 home games a year, not 81and so the stadium sat drowning in nearly $50 million in debt, while the Pirates were losing up to $10 million a year, borrowing more millions just to stay afloat and knocking heads with the stadium authority to sweeten the Three Rivers lease as they had been doing for years. It is in North Shore. As groundbreaking on the stadium finally took place in 1968, the Bridge to Nowhere finally got somewhereand it wouldnt be just to ferry traffic to Three Rivers. No-nonsense manager Jim Leyland presided over a young and highly talented outfield that included Bonilla, Van Slyke, and a tantalizing five-tool legacy named Barry Bonds, who omitted occasional raw flashes of greatness before ascending to more consistent MVP levels. One silver lining to perhaps emerge from the Pirates lack of fans during the 1980s is that there were fewer of them to abuse the players. "No matter what happens, when they tear Three Rivers down, a monument ought to be built there. In the 1971 World Series, Three Rivers Stadium hosted the first World Series game played at night. [49] Two months later on December 16, 2000, the Steelers concluded play at Three Rivers Stadium, with a 243 victory over the Washington Redskins.[50]. Details Three Rivers Stadium Facts Cost to build: $55 million ($383.5 million today) Ground Broken:. It took just 19 seconds for a colossal Pittsburgh sports landmark to collapse. Roughly a decade later, outfielder Andy Van Slyke had a cigarette lighter thrown in his direction; upon picking it up, Van Slyke read an attached message that said, Use this to light a fire under you. His teammate, Bobby Bonillain the midst of an All-Star season in 1988was heavily booed at Three Rivers because his home batting average was 100 points lower than on the road. THREE RIVERS STADIUM Pittsburgh, PA For three decades along the banks of the Allegheny River sat Three Rivers Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. [21] That November, Arthur Gratz asked the city for an additional $3million ($22.2 million today), which was granted. Pittsburgh Jazz Festival Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles B.B. Has signature of artists as shown in pictures and was made in 2001. Forty years earlier, Art Rooney had paid $2,500 he had floating around from winnings at the racetrack to purchase an expansion National Football League team in Pittsburgh. The Three Rivers clubhouse was derisively nicknamed The National League Drugstore, the focal point for Baseballs biggest drug scandal; not only did it result in a 12-year prison sentence for Shiffman (Koch became an informant and ratted him out), but it also forged testimony from some of his major league clients, big names such as Dave Parker, Keith Hernandez and Tim Raineswho were all granted immunity to talk. When the United States Football League placed a franchise at Three Rivers Stadium in 1984, a name-the-team contest was won by a local man who came up with Maulers. His prize was a lifetime pass to the teams home games; the Maulers lasted only one year. It was during the Steelers' stay in Three Rivers that the now famous "Mean Joe" Greene Coke commercial aired, leading to a longstanding relationship between the two. Since 1909, Forbes Field was one of baseballs more elite ballparks, an ornate palace for the National Pastime that the team and its fans could feel proud of. The Pitt Panthers played at Three Rivers Stadium on multiple occasions. This includes 4,000 premium seats that can be found in the Truist Club, Delta Sky360 Club and Terrace Club. July 3, 2022 In consider how sergei reacts when yoni comes to the door. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. When 70,000 peoplemany without ticketsattempted to force their way into a 1976 concert featuring ZZ Top and Aerosmith, leading to an injury count of at least 250, public officials debated whether to end rock music acts at Three Rivers. Even the pleasing evergreen views beyond the fences from inside Forbes Field were rapidly being overcome by industry and other inevitable forms of development. After thirty years of being locked in at Three Rivers Stadium, who can blame them? Doug Harvey hands Roberto Clemente the ball after he doubled off the Mets' Jon Matlack for his 3,000th career hit on September 30, 1972. PNC Park grandly looks out toward downtown Pittsburgh and is constantly acknowledged as one of baseballs best ballparks. Have a comment, question or request? Yet in the 1970s, Three Rivers Stadium was a super bowl, literally so for the Steelerswho went on to conquer four National Football League titles in their first 10 years playing at the stadium. Homestead Grays (1939-1948) Vital statistics: Lifetime Capacity Outfield dimensions (feet) Behind home plate Fence height The Clem Criteria: Built Demo-lished LF LC CF RC RF Field asymm. [15][17] Arguments were made by commissioner (and former Allegheny County Medical Examiner) Dr. William McCelland that the Pirates and Steelers should fund a higher percentage of the $33million project ($275.6 million today). Having just fallen behind at Three Rivers to the Oakland Raiders by a 7-6 score, the Steelers were 22 seconds away from defeat and facing fourth down 60 yards from the Raiders end zone. The statue was originally located in Schenley Park, just beyond the left-field fence of Forbes Field. . Price: From $89.99 to $129.99. This section was taken to Three Rivers Stadium for decoration in the Allegheny Club. Meanwhile, the team found that their only way to replace Barry Bonds was to stick Al Martin in left field every night. They received the honor of hosting the very last event at Three Rivers, easily dispensing of the Washington Redskins, 24-3. Tim McGraw / Kenny Chesney / George Strait / The Chicks (US) / Jo Dee Messina / Mark Wills / Asleep At the Wheel. Alas, bureaucracy won the day over beauty and urban community. Home to the Pirates, who won two World Series, and the Steelers, who won four Super Bowl Championships, creating Pittsburgh's "City of Champions" identity. [44] And in 1992, the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrated their second Stanley Cup victory at the Stadium. Three Rivers Stadium had a beverage contract with Coca-Cola throughout its history. From the ashes of the drug-infested, small-crowd doldrums of the mid-1980s, the Pirates rose like a Phoenix to be reckoned with at the end of the decade. After its closing, Three Rivers Stadium was imploded in 2001, and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers moved into newly built dedicated stadiums: PNC Park and Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium), respectively. The model of the stadium, revealed at the end of 1964, was eye candy on a prime level; a 54,000-seat venue with an overhang that protected 70% of the fans, thinning out and angling downward toward the river; private suites; and two restaurants, one open year-round. Almost as surprisingly, the fans returneddrawing over two million in both 1990 and 1991, the only two times they would reach the figure at Three Rivers. Tony Perez hit the stadiums first home run, and scored the game-winner in the top of the ninth on Lee Mays single. [63] The Pirates lifted their television blackout policy for home games so that local fans could see the inaugural game. Sister Sledge, the We Are Family authors from the Bucs fabled 1979 campaign, reunited to sing the National Anthem. Brett's All-Star win a big thrill", "Fun Facts About Pittsburgh's Ball Parks", "The house that the 'Immaculate Reception' built", "Steelers' former radio announcer Myron Cope dies at 79", Thirty Years of Stadium Rock Pittsburgh Music History, Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories, Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series home run, District of Columbia Stadium/RFK Memorial Stadium, Frankford High School's Community Memorial Stadium, Municipal Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three_Rivers_Stadium&oldid=1142567592, Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States, Defunct American football venues in the United States, Defunct baseball venues in the United States, Defunct multi-purpose stadiums in the United States, Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion, Short description is different from Wikidata, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, July 30, 1972: Three Dog Night (2nd tour), July 13, 1973: Pittsburgh Jazz Festival (featuring, July 14, 1973: Pittsburgh Jazz Festival (featuring, July 19, 1975: World Series of Rock (featuring, June 15, 1988: Monsters of Rock Tour featuring. The Steelers won 17 Monday Night Football games at Three Rivers Stadium. Initially mocked for looking like everything from a softball jersey to pajamas, the synthetic unis would start a trend that virtually every other major league team would catch on with during the 1970s and beyond. His Hall-of-Fame teammate Steve Carlton had the most wins as a visitor, with 15. It was named in February 1969 for its location at the confluence of the Allegheny and . In his heyday, everything King Midas touched turned to gold. It's been 20 years since the home of the Pirates and Steelers was imploded before the new stadiums were opened. The debt was finally retired by 2010. June 30, 1995: Grateful Dead played their last Pittsburgh show. The Pirates werent complaining either; they all but bookended the decade hoisting a pair of World Series trophies, while winning four other National League East Division titles. Though spacious Forbes Field was perfectly suited for Clementes brand of line-drive hitting, he found Three Rivers to be no problem. [45] The venue also served as the premiere of the 1994 Disney film Angels in the Outfield which, despite being based around the California Angels, paid homage to the original 1951 film, which featured the Pirates in "heavenly" need.[46]. Fifty years ago, on July 16, 1970, Three Rivers Stadium opened in Pittsburgh, Pa. With that said it is a wild river and when roaring . Steven Adams is a Tribune-Review manager/photography. . [65] The average attendance would peak in 1991, when the Pirates averaged 25,498per game. olivia tampa dress code; hydroponic farm names; . That brought instant sentimentality of a kind upon a facility derided for so long by fans, but now embraced as a much-needed link from the iconic days of Forbes Field to the future days that lay ahead at the new venues. Doormats would have been more appropriate; as the Steelers bounced around Pittsburgh without its own stadium, they were traditional losers who made only one postseason appearance in 37 yearslosing 21-0before moving into Three Rivers. Baseball team, wallowing in a decrepit locker room, is growing restless for something new. Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. The Sporting News Leonard Koppett admitted that Three Rivers and its modern ilk were admirably practical buildings, containing creature comforts and working facilities undreamed of in the old days, but he well understood their flaws. Downtown Pittsburgh peaks over the top of the other side. Three Rivers Stadium Plaque. Open now. Donned with multiple, vivid uniform combinations of black, gold and pinstripes, the Pirates intensified their exciting brand of ball, particularly excelling at Three Rivers; during a last-gasp effort to steal the 1978 NL East title from the Philadelphia Phillies, they won a major league-record 24 straight games at home. [57], On September 30, 2012, members of the Society for American Baseball Research marked and painted the home plate and first base of the former stadium on the 40th Anniversary of Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit.[58]. But the debt needed to be paid and the crowds, as misbehaved as they often were, were massive. Oh, and yeslocal football team wants to join along. The home of the Steelers and Pirates had been rendered obsolete by the pair of stadiums now flanking the aging concrete cylinder. The longest game at the stadium was played on August 6, 1989, when Jeff King hit a walk-off home run 5hours and 42minutes into the 18-inning contest, as the Pirates once again beat the Cubs 54. three rivers stadium home plate location. Oakland head coach John Madden often told the story of what happened next: The refs got on the phone and asked stadium officials if they could guarantee their safety off the field. [13] Plans of the "Stadium over the Monongahela" were eventually not pursued. Among visiting players at Three Rivers, the Phillies Mike Schmidt hit the most home runs with 25including his 500th career round-tripper in 1987. It was very nice. In 1972, the Steelers made the postseasonwhich itself was big newsbut the franchises coming-of-age moment occurred in their first playoff game with, arguably, the most memorable play in NFL history. The first World Series night game was played at the stadium on Oct. 13, 1971. Franco Harris rushed for 27 100-yard games at Three Rivers Stadium. The championship chic of Three Rivers Stadiums first decade would hit a celebrated crescendo in 1979. Spectators are easily distracted by mesmerizing views of downtown Pittsburgh, the Allegheny River and the Sixth Street Bridge, now named after Pirates legend Roberto Clemente. No team ever scored 20 or more runs in a game at Three Rivers Stadium. Franco Harriss Immaculate Reception happened there on Dec. 23, 1972. But postwar America had moved on from baseballs Gilded Age; decaying relics of yesteryear had no place in a society focused on suburbia, interstates and 707s. The Ballparks: Forbes Field Removed from downtown Pittsburghs choking smoke and untamed rivers, elegant Forbes Field was built in a vernal, cultural paradise on the outskirts of town, where three was the magic numberfrom three Pirates world titles to Babe Ruths last three homers to the last tripleheader to all those triples. The initial chatter toward a modern stadium actually predated the universitys purchase of Forbes by a decade. Perhaps the Pirates biggest fan at Three Rivers Stadium was Steelers owner Art Rooney, who worked by day for his football team and, every night, moved up to one of the box suites to watch the Pirates. This is the greatest day of my life, he told reporters. While the Pirates represented baseball tradition, the Steelers represented PittsburghTough, hard-nosed, grim-featured, not so fancy, wrote The Sporting News Furman Bisher. Location. . 104 View Of Three Rivers Stadium Premium High Res Photos Browse 104 view of three rivers stadium stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. DRS principal Dahlen Ritchey, who grew up a big Pirates fan and forever regretted the day he gave away his Game Seven tickets to the 1960 World Series (because he was sure the Pirates would lose), initially lobbied for separate side-by-side stadiums for the Pirates and Steelerswith the Bucs ballpark providing an open view beyond its outfield of downtown. [23][24] It would sometimes be called The House That Clemente Built after Pirates' right-fielder Roberto Clemente. Three Rivers Stadiums original scoreboard extends out above the outfield wall. Numerous strikes in a city heavily represented by unions pushed back the scheduled first game from Opening Day 1970 to midseason; Every day they delay making the move is taking money out of my pocket, complained Pirates star slugger Willie Stargell, who had enough of Forbes Field and its endless outfield dimensions. (It would take 10 years for that person, Kevin McClatchy, to fully purchase the Bucs.). Locals mocked it as the Bridge to Nowhere.. The university wanted the land for expanded graduate facilities. A three level parking garage accommodating 2,500 cars encased the stadium with the entry gates to the stadium on the second (green) level. But the river that created the most beautiful valley and the home of the Giant Forest is totally overlook. Touch for map. Pittsburgh mayor David L. Lawrence first brought up the idea of a civic-owned sports building in 1947, but it would take eight years for joint city-county agencies to seriously begin pondering where, when and how. Home plate is rocketed from Three Rivers Stadium to PNC Park after the final game. Eventually the 1980s came along and concert crowds began to mellow with age. design Seat prox. Even after its implosion, Three Rivers Stadium continued to live on in the bills of taxpayers, who still had to help pay off $40 million of debt on the facility. Throngs of people gather at Point State Park to get a view of the implosion. It also featured a Pirates Hall of Fame which, at one stage, included wax figures of Honus Wagner, Pie Traynor and Roberto Clemente wearing the uniforms of their times. Once the dust cloud dissipated, the crumbled remains become visible. [69] Three Rivers Stadium hosted seven AFC Championship Games from 1972 to 1997;[34][71] the Steelers won four. Outside of the gates, an homage to the past was erected with the placement of a Roberto Clemente statue. Photographed By Harry S. Coughanour, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, circa 1970. The dual-sport structure had been the epicenter of Pittsburgh sports for 30 years since opening on July 16, 1970. Dock Ellis and Manny Sanguillen, the battery for the first game back in 1970, threw and caught the ceremonial first pitch. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Meanwhile, the naming of Three Rivers Stadium didnt sit well with many Pittsburghers, who rather would have seen the facility named after David Lawrence, the mayor who first championed the idea of a stadium back in 1948. Jun 06, 1999 -. They were located behind home plate. One came out and delayed a 1986 game for seven minutes with his stinky presence. The idea came from Forbes Field, Ritchey told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2001 of his ballpark design. Now, Wagner stands guard in front of the home-plate entrance at PNC Park on the corner of General Robinson Street and Mazeroski Way. The final Pittsburgh Steelers home game was played on December 16th, 2000 vs. the Washington Redskins. Stadium was still under construction due to labor disputes and later opened on 7.16.70 against the Reds. If 25,000 people go (to Three Rivers) for a game, said one-time Pirate Phil Garner to The Sporting News, most of them will still be there two hours after the game..