PITTSBURGH – Pirates team president Travis Williams has been in the news more often this season than anyone probably anticipated – or in the franchise’s case, preferred.
Two topics in particular have drawn ire from fans. The first was when the “Clemente 21” logo on the right-field wall was replaced by an advertisement. Williams took accountability for the change, and the Clemente logo was quickly restored.
The other was the removal of “Bucco Bricks." The bricks were part of a fundraiser for the Roberto Clemente Foundation which launched in 1999, allowing fans to have a personalized message as PNC Park was being built. The concrete around the ballpark was replaced this winter, and with it, the bricks were removed and later found at a nearby recycling facility. It wasn’t the first time the bricks had been replaced, and the Pirates are planning a new structure with those personalized bricks. But a lack of transparency led to confusion and anger from the fanbase.
"Our fans come first and foremost,” Williams said Thursday afternoon. “Our relationship with our fans is really important, and we know over the last couple of weeks we've had some missteps there. We fixed those mistakes and we're moving forward. We're going to commemorate the messages and the tributes that are on the bricks in a permanent display. We have offered up the opportunity for those fans who had the original bricks to get a replica of those, and then we've obviously responded very quickly to the Roberto Clemente sign.
“We're looking forward, and looking forward to building that relationship like we've done, and it's really built on the trust and the customer service and experience we provide at the ballpark.”
The Pirates unveiled a program this week to offer those who had Bucco Bricks a free replica brick, and Williams sent an email to fans apologizing for how things transpired. Fans looking to get their replica brick can do so here.
There’s no release date on when the structure with the new bricks will be unveiled, but Williams said his focus is to make sure that those messages can be immortalized.
“The real issue with the bricks was they were replaced three times, and in some instances even more because, over time, with the wear and tear, the weather we get here, the climate, the unevenness and the buckling, they became trip hazards and safety hazards for our fans,” Williams said. “The real impetus there was to make sure we replaced the concrete, put it in a way that it was a safe condition, always with a commitment, and we said that back in January, at the end of the day that we replaced the bricks with some form of permanent display. We want to make sure that's something the fans will really enjoy and like and add to the ballpark experience, not just something we slap up.
“At the end of the day, we're going to make sure we take our time to get that right, and it takes time to install things. We don't have a target date, but rest assured we are expediting that review and that commitment, and we will get something up that memorializes the bricks and the messages that were there."
During an interview with MLB.com during the Pirates’ home opener earlier this month, team chairman Bob Nutting said PNC Park “is Pittsburgh's ballpark, and our job is to make sure it stays as [great as] it can possibly stay." Williams is tasked with that, and to help repair any divide that has happened between the club and its fans.
"I think it's just a matter of getting back to basics,” Williams said. “Customer service and fan experience, those are things that have been our hallmark since Day 1 at PNC Park. We've obviously gotten great marks nationwide, it's the 'Best Ballpark in America,' and the experience goes along with the view. We want to make sure we get back to those basics and move forward."