PNC Field

PNC Field in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania definitely shouldn't be confused (or compared) to PNC Park at the other end of the state. The hulking home to the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate opened in 1989 and is a scaled down version of stadiums that once stood in Philadelphia (Veterans) and New York (Shea).

PNC Field's three-tiered grandstand has an upper deck that's as steep as they come in the minors and the top quarter of its seats are covered with a tarp, just like many seats in the cookie cutters of old were in their final years. Suites and the press box comprise the stadium's second level. Fans enter the stadium on a concourse that's above seating for the lower level. Built at the base of a large tree-covered hill that is the stadium's backdrop, the playing field is sunken below street level, a modern concept in a venue that has been playing catch up pretty much ever since it opened.

Long known as Lackawanna County Stadium and covered for its first 18 years by various forms of artificial turf, PNC Field has added amenities over the years to offset some of what it was lacking. Party areas have been constructed in the space between the ends of the symmetrical grandstand and foul poles. What makes them more notable than most is that each party pavilion was built atop a bullpen. The bigger of the two, in left field, contains the only bleachers found in the stadium, which has a mix of orange and green seats that are colored by ticket category.

Befitting of the era in which it was built, the stadium wasn't designed to be pretty and has no true exterior facade. As such, the concrete backside of the upper grandstand is easily visible from the mostly gravel parking lot, where everybody parks for free.

Banners attached to the backside of the two light banks atop each end of the upper deck's roof contain the most prominent signage of the stadium's name, which was bought by Pennsylvania-founded PNC Financial Services just prior to the 2007 season.

Three scoreboards, each serving a different purpose, reside behind the outfield wall. Shortly behind them begins the ascent of the hill that dominates the backdrop. Sitting on top of it are, from left to right, a hotel, restaurant and movie theatre. All are visible from within the grandstand. Outside of the stadium and behind the left field pavilion is a trolley station that's part of a museum that opened in 2006.

That a trolley museum is adjacent to a multi-purpose stadium, as PNC Field was designed to be, seems appropriate, as both are reminders of a time period that has passed. Still, PNC Field isn't that bad of a place to watch a ballgame. It's just no modern marvel in a sport that's full of them at all levels.