Anyone from Pittsburgh? Need advice on PNC Park

[The Iron Giant]

Any locals familiar with the area around PNC Park in Pittsburgh?

I am taking my son to a Pirates game in June and we will be staying at the Hilton on Commonwealth Place which is right across the river from the stadium.

I have found stuff on the internet claiming the hotel is within an easy walk to the stadium and we would actually prefer to walk and see the city a little bit. But I have never been to Pittsburgh before and don't know if its a good idea.

Is this a safe area to walk - especially in the dark after the game with a 6 year old?

 

[msmayor]

I'm not familiar with where the Hilton is...when we went with our kids to Pittsburgh a couple of years ago for a weekend series of the Pirates/Mets, we stayed at the Marriott Renaissance which truly was a VERY easy walk to the stadium.

On game days, they actually close the Roberto Clemente bridge across the river to the stadium to traffic, and that bridge was steps outside the door of our hotel. We had about a 10-minute walk to the stadium. The bridge stays closed to traffic until well after the game is over, so we were easily able to walk back to our hotel (around 10-11pm). There were tons of folks out and about, and we never felt unsafe at all.

 

[sau418]

Yes it is a safe area to walk with a 6 year old especially right after a game as there will be a ton of foot traffic crossing the bridge to get to downtown where many people park.

I might throw a word of caution about the Hilton, there has been alot of bad press about that specific hotel lately due to construction/remodeling that is going on there. I am not sure if it is impacting guests but wanted to throw that out. If you are staying there because of location, Springhill Suites is directly across the street from PNC park and is a great hotel (stayed there the night before my weddding). There are many things within walking distance of either hotel or a short cab ride away. Station Square has many good restaurants and is right across the river. Heinz field is also within walking distance. Carnegie Science Center and Sports Works (very cool for a 6 year old) are both next to Heinz Field.

If you have questions feel free to PM me.

Sue

 

[The Iron Giant]

Great news - thank you both for the speedy replies

We picked the Hilton because we have points for a free stay and its close proximity to the stadium. Thanks for the info about the construction - I will contact the hotel as the date gets closer to see if its still a problem

 

[eandt]

Hilton is nice but all things being equal I would recommend the Renaissance Hotel which is right across the Clemente Bridge from PNC. It was recently listed on TripAdvisor's top 10 hotels in US. Make sure that he get a Primanti Bros sandwich while in town, can get one right in PNC or for the complete experience go to the original location in the Strip District. Don't worry the Strip is a warehouse district not a red light LOL. Enjoy

 

[Kies99]

I gotta go with what sau418 and eandt say.

I work in Downtown Pittsburgh and can see PNC Park from my office.

First things first...I would definitely stay away from the Hilton. There are ownership issues with the hotel. It was/is in the midst of a major renovation and the contractors all walked off the job due to non-payment. Then the owners defaulted on some type of payment amongst other things. To be honest, it was all over the news just before and after the G20 summit (September??) but haven't heard anything lately.

As for Springhill Suites or the Rennaisance, both are extremely close to the park and are very nice hotels. If it's a night game, I'd probably recommend you go with those because of your son.

If it's a day game, here's something to know about Pittsburgh: We are a very compact city due to topography. The true downtown of the city is bordered by 2 rivers and therefore not many places for the downtown to expand to.

I'd also recommend either the Courtyard By Marriott (Penn Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh) or the Westin Convention Center hotel. Both are about an 8-10 block walk straight down Penn Avenue to the park (you'd hang a right onto 6th and go a block and over the 6th Street Bridge [Roberto Clemente Bridge] to the park.) A nice thing about these two is that you are only another 2 blocks from the Heinz History Center which is a neat museum about Pittsburgh and the region (great Sports section).

I'd also maybe look into the Sheraton at Station Square. It's not walking distance to the park, but there are boats called the Gateway Clipper Ships (they have a website) and I think you can take one of them over to the game and back.

 

[The Iron Giant]

Thanks for the information on the hotels.

At this point I will likely be sticking with the Hilton. We are only going to be using it for a one night stay and will only be in the room about 8 or 9 hours.

Plus its free

If it was a longer trip or an actual vacation I would take your advice and look elsewhere. But it seems fine for a place to sleep one night.

 

[debbi801]

Yes it is a safe area to walk with a 6 year old especially right after a game as there will be a ton of foot traffic crossing the bridge to get to downtown where many people park.

I might throw a word of caution about the Hilton, there has been alot of bad press about that specific hotel lately due to construction/remodeling that is going on there. I am not sure if it is impacting guests but wanted to throw that out. If you are staying there because of location, Springhill Suites is directly across the street from PNC park and is a great hotel (stayed there the night before my weddding). There are many things within walking distance of either hotel or a short cab ride away. Station Square has many good restaurants and is right across the river. Heinz field is also within walking distance. Carnegie Science Center and Sports Works (very cool for a 6 year old) are both next to Heinz Field.

If you have questions feel free to PM me.

Sue

We stayed at that Springhill Suites over the summer and loved it.

 

[momtosam]

Don't be scared off by the Hilton. The construction is a pain to drive around, but the rooms are very nice. Walking is not a problem to PNC Park. There is a parking garage on the corner of the street that is also very easy to access. Have fun!

 

[The Iron Giant]

Don't be scared off by the Hilton. The construction is a pain to drive around, but the rooms are very nice. Walking is not a problem to PNC Park. There is a parking garage on the corner of the street that is also very easy to access. Have fun!

Perfect - thank you for the info on the hotel and getting to PNC

 

[andrews_dad]

Thanks for the information on the hotels.

At this point I will likely be sticking with the Hilton. We are only going to be using it for a one night stay and will only be in the room about 8 or 9 hours.

Plus its free

If it was a longer trip or an actual vacation I would take your advice and look elsewhere. But it seems fine for a place to sleep one night.

Pitts is a great town with lots to see and do. If I only had one day there I would not be wasting it seeing the awful Pirates, that is for sure!

 

[sherabby]

We are going to a game in June on skyblast night. What day are you going? I think ours is June 5th. If you go to a Sunday game they have lots of activities for the kids outside the park area...air bouncers, slides, games.

 

[The Iron Giant]

We are going to a game in June on skyblast night. What day are you going? I think ours is June 5th. If you go to a Sunday game they have lots of activities for the kids outside the park area...air bouncers, slides, games.

We'll be there June 4th - I was able to snag two tickets in the third row behind the dugout for fairly cheap - especially compared to what we're used to with Yankees tickets

What is skyblast night?

I think our game is hat giveaway... have fun!

 

[sherabby]

We'll be there June 4th - I was able to snag two tickets in the third row behind the dugout for fairly cheap - especially compared to what we're used to with Yankees tickets

What is skyblast night?

I think our game is hat giveaway... have fun!

Skyblast I on Saturday, June 5, will feature multi-platinum band Collective Soul after the Pirates take on the San Francisco Giants.
Sometimes the fireworks go along with the music and sometimes they are just after the concert. It is a ton of fun!

Hope you enjoy your game! My son would LOVE to see the Yankees play! He is starting to really get into baseball at age 9.