Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh ( /ˈpɪtsbərɡ/, pits-burg) is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area ofAppalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States. The population of the city in 2010 was 305,704, while that of the seven-county metropolitan area stood at 2,356,285. Downtown Pittsburgh retains substantial economic influence, ranking at 25th in the nation for jobs within the urban core and 6th in job density.The characteristic shape ofPittsburgh's central business district is a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The city features 151 high-rise buildings, 446 bridges, two inclined railways, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Pittsburgh is known colloquially as "The City of Bridges" and "The Steel City" for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base.

________________________________________________________________________

PNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise.^[4][5] It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium. The ballpark is sponsored by the locally-based PNC Financial Services, which purchased the naming rights in 1998.^[6] PNC Park features a natural grass playing surface and seats 38,496 people for baseball, which as of 2008 is the second-smallest capacity of any Major League park.

Funded in conjunction with Heinz Field and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the $216 million park stands along the Allegheny River, on the North Shore of Pittsburgh with a view ofDowntown Pittsburgh. Plans to build a new stadium for the Pirates originated in 1991, but did not come to fruition for five years. Built in the style of "classic" stadiums, such as Boston's Fenway Park, PNC Park also introduced unique features, such as the use of limestone in the building's facade.^[4] The park also features a riverside concourse, steel truss work, an extensive out-of-town scoreboard, and many local eateries. Constructed faster than most modern stadiums, PNC Park was built in a 24-month span.

Since completion, PNC Park has been hailed as one of the best ballparks in the country. It has the third-cheapest average ticket prices of any MLB stadium and has helped attract business to surrounding establishments, though the Pirates have not had a winning season since they moved to the stadium. PNC Park hosted the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the fifth MLB All-Star Game held in Pit

tsburgh.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of theNational Football League (NFL) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) respectively. It hosted the 2011 NHL Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals on January 1st 2011. The stadium opened in 2001, after the controlled implosion of the teams' previous stadium, Three Rivers Stadium. The stadium is named for locally based H. J. Heinz Company, which purchased the naming rights in 2001.

Funded in conjunction with PNC Park and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the US$281 million stadium stands along the Ohio River, on the Northside of Pittsburgh in the North Shore neighborhood. The stadium was designed with the city of Pittsburgh's history of steel production in mind, which led to the inclusion of 12,000 tons of steel into the design.^[5] Ground for the stadium was broken in June 1999 and the first football game was hosted in September 2001. The stadium's natural grass surface has been criticized throughout its history, but Steelers ownership has kept the grass after lobbying from players and coaches. Attendance for the 65,050 seat stadium has sold out for every Steelers home game, a streak which dates back to 1972 (a year before local telecasts of home games were permitted in the NFL). A collection of memorabilia from the Steelers and Panthers of the past can be found in the Coca-Cola Great Hall.