Pirates and Fanatics bring new retail experience to PNC Park

Walking into the massive new Pirates Clubhouse Store at PNC Park is a treat for the eyes. In every direction, you’re met with bright lights, vibrant colors, reminders of the team’s long and storied history and a vast array of Pirates merchandise for shoppers of all ages.

Whether your favorite player is a current star such as Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds or Oneil Cruz or an all-time great such as Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell or Steve Blass, there’s something for everyone.

In partnership with Fanatics, the Pirates unveiled the new retail shop -- located on the Federal Street side of the ballpark -- to the media on Tuesday. The 8,450-square-foot, single-level space is more than twice the size of the store’s previous location. The Pirates and Fanatics began working together in 2016 and recently agreed on a 10-year extension of their partnership. Talks regarding the new Pirates Clubhouse Store began a little over a year ago.

“The new Pirates Clubhouse Store was built entirely with the fan experience in mind,” Pirates president Travis Williams said. “PNC Park was already a great ballpark, and we’ve focused on enhancing it over the past couple offseasons, to make it even better for our fans. Initially, most of that focused on the food and beverage experience. With this new retail store, we’re making sure our merchandise experience is even better as well. The other term I would use is first class. This is going to be a first-class store for our fans.”

“We wanted to imagine what we could do differently to elevate the retail experience, and we leaned on Travis and Pirates leadership regarding what resonates with the city of Pittsburgh, and what resonates with Pirates fans,” said Ed O’Brien, senior vice president of business development and strategy for Fanatics. “We wanted to have a great presentation of cool, unique products that you can only get at the ballpark. We also wanted to create an easy-to-navigate experience, and the Pirates were very generous in terms of the amount of space they dedicated to the project.”

The new merchandise store is in the part of the ballpark that previously housed eateries such as Atria’s and Slice on Broadway and a branch of PNC Bank. The previous two-story retail space was located on the opposite side of the Stargell statue along Federal Street.

In addition to an overall expanded assortment of merchandise, the new Pirates Clubhouse Store includes several concept shops from leading brands such Nike, New Era, Mitchell & Ness and WinCraft. Other features include a Topps activation station where fans can create their own baseball cards, a station where fans can customize Pirates jerseys, self-checkout technology, eye-catching Pirates artwork and scrolling ticker-style LED screens that flash the latest in baseball news and scores.

“From the beginning, Fanatics have been fantastic partners in creating this new retail experience featuring unique elements and offerings for our fans,” Williams said. “The open floor plan, single-level experience will not only enhance the gameday experience, but the Federal Street experience year-round.

“This also demonstrates how we at PNC Park and the Pirates continue to be innovative. When we do something to enhance the ballpark, we want to be sure that we’re thinking down the road, not just thinking about today. This new, first-of-its kind merchandise shop really demonstrates that.”

“We appreciate the Pirates continued commitment to bring a best-in-class retail experience to fans at PNC Park, and we’re incredibly proud to officially open this new state-of-the-art shopping experience,” O’Brien said. “By tapping into brands across our network, Fanatics will create an elevated retail footprint which allows Pirates fans to create deeper connections with the team and the players they love.

“We’ve been talking about this for a long time. I’m excited to see it in action.”