Pirates release plans for permanent display at PNC Park with the Bucco Bricks messages
On Thursday, the Pirates unveiled their final plans for the installation of commemorative bronze plaques at PNC Park that will include the original messages that were on the Bucco Bricks.
The Pirates presented the plans to the Sports Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh, and it included the final designs from the team as well as architect and urban planner Janet Marie-Smith.
"To be able to go there and be able to look at your name on the brick and have it still at PNC Park, I think that's what people wanted in the first place," brick owner Jane Jessell said.
The new display will be a permanent installation of 60 bronze plaques on the facade of PNC Park on West General Robinson Street and Mazeroski Way. They will be approximately five feet in height, six feet in length, and will include around 170 messages on each.
Those messages will be in the original rectangular and square formats with the same font size as the Bucco Bricks.
The team said that the new plaques are a more sustainable way to display the messages, with the bronze material being more durable than the original bricks.
"From the renderings, it looks like a beautiful tribute," brick owner Randy Page said. "Something they probably should have done when they were going to remove the bricks to begin with."
According to team president Travis Williams, this will cost more than $1 million, with all of it coming from private means.
"We wanted to make a vertical presentation of them, and we thought the bronze plaque was the best way to do that," Williams told KDKA.
According to the Pirates, the display should be done by opening day of next year.
What happened to the Bucco Bricks?
In January, fans of the team and season ticket holders began asking the question, "What happened to the Bucco Bricks?"
As the sidewalks around the stadium were being fixed, many had noticed the bricks had been removed in the process.
In a statement, the Pirates said that after almost a quarter century, the sidewalks needed repairs, including the Bucco Bricks display.
"We are currently exploring multiple options on how best to display the bricks and, more importantly, the personal messages and memories on them. Those fans who participated in the program should know we are working to ensure the essence of the program is captured moving forward."
Months had passed since, and answers became less and less obvious, and the bricks were still missing. With the season approaching in April, the noise only got louder.
The home opener lost some of its fanfare for brick owners like Randy Page.
"It was a bit of a bummer walking past the Wagner statue and seeing plain gray sidewalks," Pirates fan Randy Page said about not seeing his brick by the Honus Wagner statue near the home plate entrance.
Bucco Bricks found at a recycling plant
Just days after fans continued to push for answers as to where their beloved keepsakes had gone, they were spotted in Reserve Township, at a facility where building materials are brought to be recycled.
"Unbelievable. That's unbelievable," said Mark Robinson. "We bought those bricks. That's my brick. I mean, my daughter's name is literally on the brick. It's mine, and they just got rid of it. It's awful."
Robinson's brick is one of the 10,000 that sat outside PNC Park for about 25 years. The Bucco Bricks were sold in 1999, before the opening of PNC Park. Many fans made a point to visit their personal sidewalk marker each time they visited the park.
Pirates ownership gets involved, offers to make it right
The Pirates' polarizing owner, Bob Nutting, emailed with a fan, sending out a personalized email to at least that one person.
"I think he took it as a shock, just like everyone else did," Brian Carothers said. "It was an apology email, saying he was embarrassed by how the situation was handled with the Bucco Bricks."
Not long after the emails, as well as outrage from fans, the team offered to make it right by providing replica bricks to those who had purchased them.
"I know how meaningful the messages and tributes are. We respect that. We appreciate that," Williams wrote in his letter. "We are, and have always been, absolutely committed to ensuring these special messages and tributes live on permanently at PNC Park."
