Local Ballfields to Receive Significant Upgrades

PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO

Some local neighborhood ballfields across the city will soon be getting a facelift. 

As part of its long-running Fields for Kids program, Pirates Charities announced last week that it will be partnering with the Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council to upgrade fields across Pittsburgh as well as to fund the purchase of the same professional maintenance laser-grading equipment used at PNC Park. The Laborers will be investing in new, high-quality scoreboards for games at the fields, according to a press release.

“For nearly two decades, the Pirates Charities Fields for Kids program has been an important part of what we do. It reflects something we believe deeply: every child deserves a safe, reliable place to play and be part of a team,” Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting says in a statement. “This effort allows us to build on that longstanding commitment and expand the impact of the program across more city fields.”

Twenty local fields will be receiving updates to the elements that most directly affect how fields are used every day, including improvements to playing surfaces, drainage, equipment and durability. 

City officials told Pittsburgh Magazine they have not yet finalized a list of fields that will receive the upgrades, but that the work will be done over the course of this year. 

Mayor Corey O’Connor emphasizes the urgency of improving neighborhood assets and the importance of creating spaces that support everyday quality of life across Pittsburgh.

“Youth sports provide young people with a safe opportunity to have fun, develop skills, and be part of a team,” O’Connor says in a statement. “We want Pittsburgh to be every family’s first choice and having high quality recreation spaces is a critical part of that.”

The initiative is a result of direct conversations between Nutting and O’Connor and is a continuation of the strong partnership between the team and the city it calls home, officials say.

“At its core, this effort is not about making fields look professional. It is about making them work for athletes, for families, and for the shared city,” reads a press release published on the city’s website. “When neighborhood fields are well cared for and ready to use, they become places people rely on: spaces where families choose to spend time, where athletes build confidence, and where neighborhoods come together.”