Pittsburgh Pirates Extend Naming Rights For PNC Park For Next 10 Seasons

If you are a fan of the name PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, then you'll be glad to know that you'll be hearing a lot of it for the next 10 seasons.

Thursday the Pirates organization and PNC Bank announced jointly that the name "PNC Park" will remain in place at the Major League home of the Pirates.

PNC Park opened in 2001 on Pittsburgh's North Shore, taking over for Three Rivers Stadium, which was home for both the Pirates and the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

Three Rivers Stadium was torn down on February 11th, 2001. The Steelers now play their home games at Heinz Field, while the Pirates are down the street at PNC Park.

"Simply put, the Pittsburgh Pirates are our hometown baseball team, and as Pittsburgh's hometown bank, we believe the opportunity to renew our agreement makes a great deal of sense," said Lou Cestello, regional president for PNC in Pittsburgh.

"Our relationship with the Pirates is a natural fit, as two organizations share a focus on providing opportunities for those in our community to succeed, especially young children and families."

The financial terms of the deal were not announced.

"The spirit of this agreement reaches well beyond the ballpark. PNC's shared pride in our city and commitment to make a difference in our community remains an important aspect of our work together," said Pirates President Travis Williams.

The agreement should help, as the Pirates' current payroll is one of the lowest in all of baseball at just $35 million entering the season.