PHOTO BY SEAN COLLIER
Baseball is supposed to be an accessible pastime, a way to spend a few summer hours anytime you’re free. It should be affordable and low-stress; while preparing for a football game can seem like getting ready for a camping trip on the tundra, heading out to a ballgame should be a leisurely activity.
And things get a lot less leisurely if you wake up with a gaping hole in your wallet.
Major League Baseball, like most other organizations that sell tickets, has spent the past two decades trying to figure out just how much money they can wring out of every fan. As a result, it’s easy to head to PNC Park (or any big-league yard) and experience sticker shock at the price of tickets, food and drinks.
Fortunately, you’re no fool — and you remember the days when you could roll into a Pirates game for about five bucks.
There’s probably no way to see the Bucs for a buck, as a promotion once offered, but you can still keep things pretty cheap if you follow these simple rules.
Park at the Casino (or Take Public Transportation)
You can park within a stone’s throw of PNC Park for about $15, but you know what’s a better price? Nothing. That’s what you’ll pay if you pull into Rivers Casino, about a 15-minute walk from PNC Park along the North Shore. Aside from a handful of days each year, self parking at the casino is free; you can leave your car, walk through the casino floor and head on to the game. (If you’d like to be a good citizen, you can always grab a drink or put a few dollars in a slot machine to justify the parking spot, but no one will stop you if you don’t.)
You can also use a park and ride location to hop on the T and take it to the North Shore if you’d like to wind up even closer to home plate. There’s also plenty of bus service near PNC Park, so you can get where you’re going for no more than bus fare.
Assuming you want to drive, though, and don’t mind the walk, Rivers Casino offers the cheapest option at a grand total of nothing.
Cost So Far: $0
Sit Upstairs Behind Home Plate for a Great View and a Low Price
Novice baseball fans think that lower seats are better. Unless you’re right on the dugout, though, this generally isn’t true; low seats have poor sightlines and more frequent obstructions, such as railings and the protective netting, interfering with your view of the game.
Most diehards will tell you that the best seats in the house are way upstairs, right behind home plate; there’s a reason that’s where they put the press box and broadcast booths. Opt for Section 316 or one of its neighbors; tickets generally cost $15-20 before fees (they do change with dynamic pricing). Even after fees, you should be able to get into the park, with a golden view, for about $22.
You can also try your luck at last-minute tickets through secondary market sites and apps such as StubHub, GameTime and SeatGeek; an hour before Sunday’s game, there were multiple last-minute seats listed at about $30, even with Paul Skenes on the mound. On a weeknight (or with a weak pitcher), even cheaper options are available.
Even going through the team directly, though, you can get into the building on most nights for $22 or less.
Cost So Far: $22
Opt for a Classic Meal
Bypass the new offerings, branded food stands and flashier choices. If you’re looking to fill up at the ballpark without emptying your pockets, go for the favorites. At the park’s generic concession stands — they’re usually labeled “North Shore Refreshment Company” or “Federal Street Grille” — you can get classic fare for less outrageous prices.
A chicken-fingers-and-fries platter is available for $14.29. A standard hot dog is $5.09; nachos are $9.85. A few stands offer two jumbo hot dogs and pretzel bites in a combo for $19.25 — that one could even feed two modest appetites.
None of these are exactly feast-sized portions, but on a hot day, do you need to fill up that much anyway?
Let’s say you opt for the hot dog and the nachos — a classic gametime marriage — and you’ll eat for a reasonable $14.90.
Cost So Far: $36.90
Stay Sober — or At Least Stick to Domestics
There’s no way around it: Beer prices at the ballpark are ridiculous, with some large cans topping $20, or more than a dollar per ounce. The best option is not imbibing, but suggesting that to some baseball fans is blasphemy.
Get bang for your buck — if not exactly a fancy brew — by going back to those generic concession stands, where 24-ounce cans of Coors Light and Miller Lite go for $14.59. That’s still a pretty penny for a domestic beer, but it’s a much better value than plenty of the alcohol in the park, especially considering you’ll get a can the size of two draft beers.
While we’re on the subject of beverages: If you walk toward PNC Park, you’ll likely pass street vendors offering bottled water for a dollar. Buy one; as long as you leave it sealed, you can carry it into the ballpark with you and hydrate for cheap.
Let’s add a one-dollar water and a massive light beer to our total.
Cost So Far: $52.49
Never Buy Souvenirs or Merch at the Park
There are some great t-shirts, hats and assorted toys available inside PNC Park. They’re all overpriced. If you’re looking to stay frugal, skip the souvenirs; you can get much better prices at local retailers, or look at thrift shops and eBay to find great vintage gear. We all want to come back from the game with a memento, but here, it’s just not worth it.
Cost So Far: $52.49
In the end, we’ve managed to get a ticket to the game, parking, nachos, a hot dog, 24 ounces of beer and a bottle of water for about $52. If you can resist the siren call of food and beer, of course, you’ll drop way back down to just that $22 ticket price.
Is $52 still a good bit of money to spend on an intentionally frugal night out? Yes, sure.
But good luck seeing the Penguins or Steelers for that much. Let’s take what we can get.
Categories: Collier’s Weekly
