Pirates’ futility, G-20 empty out PNC Park

While Downtown was deserted and boarded up today, another part of Pittsburgh also looked like a… While Downtown was deserted and boarded up today, another part of Pittsburgh also looked like a ghost town: PNC Park.

The Pirates played the Cincinnati Reds earlier this afternoon, and the announced paid attendance was 15,892, roughly 4,000 less than Pittsburgh’s season average. Now, that doesn’t seem odd, except only a fraction of those who bought tickets actually showed up.

It’s estimated that about 3,000 people filled the 38,362-seat ballpark, giving the Pirates one of their smallest crowds since PNC Park opened in 2001, according to the Associated Press. Tuesday night’s game also had a miniscule turnout, with an estimated 4,500 attendees. For the first time in PNC history, the upper deck of the stadium was closed down, and all fans were allowed to move to the lower levels.

The small crowd can partially be attributed to the G-20 conference, and very limited parking near the stadium. Also, while parking lots right outside PNC Park remained open, the Pirates released warnings about how difficult traveling in and out of the city would be during the summit, which could have also deterred some thinking of going to the game.

Of course, another reason for the small crowds could be because the Pirates and Reds are last and third-to-last, respectively, in the putrid NL Central. The Pirates already clinched their 17th consecutive losing season, a record for a franchise in any sport, and have lost their last six games. They’ve also lost 18 of 21 games in September, and 18 of their last 26 stretching back to Aug. 28.

Coincidentally, it’s almost the three-year anniversary of the smallest estimated crowd in PNC history. On Sept. 28, 2006, roughly 500 people watched the Astros beat the Pirates 3-0. That small crowd was because the game was delayed more than three hours due to heavy rain, and since the Astros were in playoff contention, the league didn’t want to cancel or reschedule the game.

In case anyone is curios and can’t accurately guess the outcome of today’s game, the Pirates lost 4-1.