Game Day
For the stadium crew that makes PNC Park so much fun to visit, the action starts well before the first pitch.
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Eartha Johnson prepares seats for a night game.
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While PNC Park is recognized as one of the most beautiful major league baseball parks in the country, keeping it that way is no small task. Hours before the park comes alive with the roar of a game-day crowd, more than 1,600 people are busy preparing for that first-pitch.
“We take great pride in cleaning and preparation,” says Dennis DaPra, vice-president of PNC Park operations and facilities management. “Cleaning starts right after a game, and goes all the way up to the next one. We powerwash every night, which is pretty much unheard of in the industry.”
While DaPra talks about the park on this sunny afternoon, housekeeping crews are hard at work in the stands wiping down seats in preparation for tonight’s game, while deep inside the kitchens, chefs are preparing the meals that will later be served in the park’s restaurants and private boxes. Many on the daily staff have been at work since 8 a.m., following up on maintenance reports from the night before.
“Once their feet hit the ground it starts rolling, and it could be a 16-hour day by the time the game is over,” DaPra said.
While preparation of the guest areas requires a significant amount of work and preparation, the playing surface also requires around-the-clock care. Head groundskeeper Steve Peeler and his crew begin work by 7 a.m. for a night game, and they’re still at work after the last fans have gone home for the night.
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Jeff Wright mops the top of the home team dugout.
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On this particular afternoon, Peeler and his crew are taking a break after mowing the grass and preparing the infield. The visiting Philadelphia Phillies are taking an early batting practice. It’s four-and-a-half hours until game time, and Peeler still has plenty of work ahead. He will water the infield several more times before game time.
During a homestand it’s not unusual for the grass to be cut once in the morning and once in the afternoon. It’s a task that takes between 45 minutes to an hour. How the grass is cut depends on how the team plays.
“It depends upon your team’s speed and pitching staff,” Peeler said. “If it’s an off-speed breaking ball pitcher, you want to keep the grass kind of high, to slow the ball down. If it’s a fastball pitcher, you want to cut it a little lower. I’ve always tried to help out the pitching staff.”
Peeler and his crew will be especially busy prior to the All Star Game to be held in PNC Park on July 11. “We want the park to be in pristine condition for the All-Star Game, and we’re working really hard for that right now,” he said. “We’ll be putting a special pattern in the grass, and there will be a lot of painting of logos and decals throughout the park. It will be like a Hollywood premiere.”
By 4:30 p.m. on game day, ushers, concession staff, and ticket-takers begin arriving for work. Many of them line up at the ARAMARK food stand to receive their evening meal. Tonight, it’s hamburgers, coleslaw, applesauce and a drink.
There are between 400 and 500 ARAMARK workers in the ballpark for a game. One by one, the food stands open, and the staff begins preparing for the arrival of the fans. On a good night, fans will consume 9,000 hot dogs, 1,500 bags of peanuts, 3,000 gallons of soda, 500 slices of pizza, 1,500 pretzels, 1,100 hamburgers, 600 bags of Cracker Jacks, 500 bags of popcorn, 1,000 bags of cotton candy and 200 orders of chicken tenders. Nachos and Primanti’s sandwiches are also popular.
At one of PNC Park’s souvenir stands, Lou Berardinelli, arrives at work by 4 p.m. on game days to begin setting up that night’s display. “I get up at five each morning to go to my regular job, then come over here,” he says. “I only need about five hours of sleep.”
Berardinelli, who has been selling souvenirs and concessions since the days of Forbes Field, admits that part of the fun of selling souvenirs is meeting the customers. “The kids still love the hats, the T-shirts and especially baseballs and baseball cards,” he says. “The adults like the pins. It’s funny how different age groups like certain things, but you see all kinds of people, and you have to be outgoing and able to get along with everybody.”
By 5 p.m., the Pirates are taking batting practice while Peeler and his crew wait near the Pirates’ dugout to give the playing field its final touches before the first pitch. At the gate level, fans have begun entering the ballpark.
“We try to make the game a fun experience for the fans and the staff,” DaPra said. “It’s never too long a day when you get to go to work at a baseball park.” •
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