Would anyone open a business without a street sign?
I can't know that answer across the board, but I do know ours: No chance.
That's the only reason we don't have a firm opening date yet for our new HQ/shop Downtown, and I'd think it's a stance most would share in that ... well, picture the scene, the social media and all else, if we swing out the doors while having the equivalent of a paper bag hanging overhead saying who we are, right?
We're getting there, though. The fully lit sign bearing our standard horizontal logo was approved by both the City of Pittsburgh and the Historic Review Commission a few days ago, and all that's left is some old-fashioned paperwork to be processed. Once that occurs, the good people at Tri-State Signs & Reprographics in the Strip can begin the actual fabrication, which generally takes around three weeks.
So ... mid-April? Or the week after?
Whenever it is, we want to do it right, the way we've tried to do with everything related to the place. Like the gorgeous blue paint -- same base color we use on the app and site -- that went up just yesterday on the exterior:
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
A fresh coat of blue paint on the exterior of 224 Fifth Avenue, Downtown, yesterday.
Without blowing out the budget, we've gone for quality materials, quality execution and modern design with everything from the exposed ceiling to the treated walls to the light fixtures to the sturdy hardwood floor and on to the shelving and other furniture now being installed.
And that part's been -- and continues to be -- all Dali. In addition to the planning, the oversight and, as of now, a ton of the actual construction, her fingerprints are all over every facet of this. To know her passion for this project is to know that, as I'm typing this at roughly 2 a.m. on the Saturday you're reading this, she's applying a second coat of some varnish or other to the wood that'll hold the merch. I just called her, only to hear, "I'm not done yet. I'll be home soon."
It's the most excited she's been in the seven-plus years of this venture about anything we've done, and that in and of itself is making it feel worthwhile.
NEEDED: MORE BOOKS
We've got all kinds of merch lined up to offer visitors to our HQ/shop, but the one area where we haven't really gotten much of a bite yet is with books. And we'd love to have books.
To be clear, we're seeking to stock new books, not used. We'd act as a de facto outlet for the latest books related to Pittsburgh sports, and that'd apply beyond Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. Anything at all.
Shoot me an email: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
WE GO EVERYWHERE
• Dave Molinari's in Glendale, Ariz., covering the Penguins this weekend. Taylor Haase and I will double-team their Wednesday game in Buffalo, N.Y., and Dave will be in Manhattan two days later.
• Alex Stumpf's in Bradenton, Fla., covering the Pirates. I spent a few days there myself this past week, and I'll be back for another stint the final week of March.
• Dale Lolley's headed down to the NFL owners' meetings a week from today, also in Florida.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page views for the past week were 399,103. Our most-read original piece was my column on the Steelers signing Mitch Trubisky, at 13,203. Broken down by team, articles on the Steelers brought 24.3% of our traffic, the Penguins 22.9%, the Pirates 15.9%, Penn State 0.5%, Pitt 0.4%.
• Our podcast downloads for the past week were 260,615.
• Our YouTube video views for the past week were 100,710.
• We're at 43,831 followers on Twitter, 37,638 on Facebook, 14,539 on Instagram, 11,948 on YouTube. These figures are just for our official company accounts on each of those platforms, not including any of our individual accounts.
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