Pirates' Bucco Bricks Fiasco: New Report Torches Team Over Removal

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pirates' public relations nightmare surrounding the Bucco Bricks controversy got worse Thursday, as an investigation revealed the team had options for saving the commemorative bricks but instead decided to destroy them.

The Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority, which owns PNC Park, released a report that revealed that the team ignored ways to preserve the bricks that were removed from outside of the stadium.

"It is readily apparent that the SEA never intended for the Bucco Bricks to be discarded and destroyed," the report stated. "Rather than being treated as construction debris, careful steps were taken, and project funds were expended, to salvage and preserve the Bucco Bricks either for re-installation or for a return of them to the fans who had purchased them. The Pirates rejected both of those options and opted instead to discard them."

Launched in 1999, the Bucco Bricks program allowed fans to purchase personalized bricks that would be placed on the main terrace of PNC Park, with proceeds going to the Roberto Clemente Foundation. The team sold about 10,000 bricks at prices of $75-$150 depending on their size.

When the season opened last month, the team was excoriated by fans left and scrambling to explain why the bricks placed outside PNC Park were discovered at a Reserve Township recycling center in a KDKA-TV report. The Pirates had not informed fans that they were junking the sentimental mementos.

The Pirates subsequently apologized and offered fans replica bricks. The team plans a permanent display with all of the messages on the bricks that were destroyed along with them.

Last September, the Sports and Exhibition Authority approved a sidewalk replacement project outside of PNC Park.

The report stated that the stadium contractor hired to perform the sidewalk work was instructed not to treat the bricks as construction debris. They were shrink-wrapped and put on 32 pallets delivered to the Pirates.

But rather than re-install them, the team instead decided to destroy them.

"The Pirates have stated that reinstalling the pavers was not a viable long-term option because, over time, they would become a tripping hazard and would need to be replaced again," the report stated.

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