BRADENTON, Fla. -- Plenty has transpired with the Pirates over the past few months, especially on the business end. Between uncertainty with the future of cable broadcasts, changes to the fan experience at the ballpark and during the offseason, and the outlook of the ball club, there was ample ground to cover.
On Thursday, team president Travis Williams sat down with DK Pittsburgh Sports to talk about a variety of topics. The one-on-one came the same day the Pirates announced a number of upgrades coming to PNC Park for the 2023 season, giving the conversation a natural starting point.
Below is the full interview:
Let's jump right in with what new is coming to the ballpark this year?
"Obviously, we made a big announcement today. Really pleased. When I came on board and sat down with Bob [Nutting], one of the things that I was most excited about was the continued evolution of PNC Park. Bob and myself, we're already starting with the best ballpark in America, and we also know at 20+ years old, you have to continue to evolve it. We started last year with the riverwalk project. Very proud of that and our collaboration with [architect/planner] Janet Marie Smith, and this year, we're really trying to focus in on the main concourse and making sure that we were able to: No. 1, improve the speed of the lines; and No. 2, really enhancing the quality of the food offerings we have there. Third is also improving the flow of the main concourse and the sightlines and making sure we relieve that congestion. Really attacking that, and like we did with the outfield project, sprinkling in the history of Pirates baseball and our brand, which is fun and neat. And Janet is terrific at that. Really set out to do that with Bob, Janet and myself this past season to make sure we were ready for this offseason and those improvements. Excited to be able to do that for the start of the season and show everybody at the home opener.
"In addition to that, obviously the lines at the entrances. We know that everybody in Pittsburgh typically tries to arrive to a game as late as they possibly can. That usually causes a little bit of congestion at the gates, and that won't happen anymore because we tested last year the evolved walkthrough system where you can actually walk through with your bags, with everything on you instead of taking everything out of your pockets and getting your bags checked. You can walk right through the system. It is actually just as safe, if not safer, because the technology -- no pun intended -- is evolved. We're able to detect anything that's weaponry or explosive devices or anything like that, just like we would with our walkthrough magnetometer. But this makes this a little quicker, a lot easier, and a lot more people can walk through this system so we can get them up into the concourse and into their seats in time for game action. So we're really excited to be able to, with a combination of those things, improve the overall fan experience, which has really been our goal with all the projects that we've done at PNC Park.
"And as we already announced, you know the scoreboard. That's another exciting enhancement to the ballpark, in partnership with our friends from the SEA [Sports & Exhibition Authority], being able to put in a scoreboard that's not just bigger — that's one aspect of it — but also the clarity and the brightness of the screen, I think fans will be amazed at how crisp of a picture [it is]. The photos that we've shared with people where we've had some imagery up there, people think it's actually a rendering as opposed to a real picture. It's really going to be neat to have people be able to see that. So we have the scoreboard, video rings are all new, audio system is all new, and our control room, which is actually the best part of the new system because we'll be able to add more features up on the screen. Being able to use that larger screen to be able to share more information with our fans and the video rings, as well. So more Statcast information people would look for. As I say, I think what we're really trying to do is bring an at-home, broadcast feel to the ballpark. And so spray charts, launch angles, exit velocities, rotations, spins on pitches, where pitches are located, all those things that you see at home when they're trying to analyze the game for you, you can have those now on our video screen."
That's just playing to the nerds like me.
"It's awesome. I think it's great."
On the subject of scoreboards, one question I got a lot last year was the out-of-town scoreboard. Bringing that back...
"You got a lot of questions? I got a lot of questions!
"That's just a perfect example of the type of attitude that we have with the Pirates, which is we want our fans to have an enjoyable experience. We want to listen to our fans if they're not [enjoying it], and we found through listening to them in many different forms -- whether I got letters or people pulled me aside in the concourse -- [they wanted it]. And those comments weren't limited to just external comments from fans. I got a lot of internal ones, like 'What were you guys thinking?' We, at the end of the day, heard those comments and realized that was an important feature for the overall experience. Something people look forward to seeing; people took pride in seeing that on the outfield. That was a no-brainer once we heard that feedback to bring that back, so you're going to see it back in essentially its same form as it was before, with maybe some slight modifications. It will be back there for fans to enjoy the out-of-town scores exactly the way they saw it before."
While we're on the subject of questions I got about 500 times this past year, PiratesFest.
"That's another one we got a lot of feedback on. Let me give you some context behind what we did this offseason. I think we all know going over the last two seasons, between COVID and work stoppage, we didn't have the ability to have our players interact with our fans. So [we were] very limited. When we were thinking about what we were going to do going into this offseason, knowing we were going to be able to have those interactions again without restrictions like we have the last two years, we were thinking 'Do we want to bring PiratesFest back in its exact form or the caravan?' What we ultimately decided is our most loyal, dedicated fans — our season ticket holders — didn't have those interactions, so we really focused on events where they had the ability to reengage with our players, because they missed out on that and they remained committed to us. We did events in November, December and January around the region at local restaurants and bars to be able to have two to three players come in for a few days and go out into those communities and really interact and engage with those fans, not only one-on-one, but to participate in a Q&A and listen and hear what they had to say about Pirates baseball. I think the resounding response to that was very positive, that they finally got a chance to engage. And of course we got to end it in January with the signing session that we had at the ballpark, just as we had signed Cutch [Andrew McCutchen]. Very nice for the fans to be able to reengage with him as well. So I think those opportunities were really important and we wanted to focus on them this year in terms of interactions with our players. We've heard from fans, obviously, the general fan, that they would like to see PiratesFest back. They look forward to it. As we are starting to get into our offseason planning for next season, we will all take that into account and consider how do we bring something back. Whether it's exactly PiratesFest or something different, but we certainly know our general fans want to engage with our players in some form or fashion during the offseason. We'll find a way to make that happen."
I was going to say. I don't know if you know this, but I grew up in Pittsburgh, South Hills, and PiratesFest was one of the highlights of the winter. We didn't have season tickets. It was one of those, 'it would have been great after two years to be there.'
"Yep. I certainly heard it and understood it. I think as you'll see, we're going to find a way for our general fans to be able to reengage as well."
I think this is the last one I've got to preface that I've gotten it 500 times, the Regional Sports Network broadcasts. What's going on with that right now?
"The industry as a whole is turned upside down, right. We know that. We've known that for quite some time. It's not a surprise to us or anybody else. I think we're working through with it on Discovery [who own AT&T SportsNet]. We're working through it with Major League Baseball in terms of what the broadcast looks like this year and what it looks like in the future. I can say with total confidence that our fans are going to be able to enjoy the broadcast on cable television this season. Into the future, the question is going to be, 'Who are we doing that with?' whether it's Discovery, whether it's Major League Baseball.
"Fans will be enjoying a broadcast on their television in Pittsburgh or in our broadcast-rights territory for the 2023 season, and we're working with Major League Baseball and [others] for 2024 and beyond."
Just to be 100% sure, entire 2023 season?
"Yes."
Ok, because I know Rob Manfred has hinted that he would like it to be more streaming and maybe this is a way to get rid of blackouts. But there is a demographic of fans in Pittsburgh that you just put it on TV. Making that jump is going to be difficult.
"I think the cable industry — that's larger than baseball as a whole — we know between cord cutters, cord shavers, whatever you want to call them, there is a transition going on across the country. Pittsburgh may be slightly different than Seattle or New York, but we know that's eventually coming to that direct-to-consumer model. I think it will be an evolution, whether it's 2-3 years, whether it's 5+, 10 years out when that's a complete switch over, but I do think there will be some combination of linear cable and direct to consumer streaming."
There's been the pandemic, the lockout, the new CBA, how has the business end evolved for the organization, and what is the standing now, especially with the RSN, because that's a potentially large sum of money off the table. What is the footing?
"I think generally speaking, we don't talk about details of baseball operations and how it impacts us. I think we're focused and working more on just making sure that our fans have the opportunity to watch the game. As I said, I have total confidence, without any hesitation or concern, fans are going to be able to watch Pirates baseball on the broadcast [as] in past years. How it impacts our business overall, I think time will tell. We certainly will adjust. With all businesses, there's changes and evolutions and ups and downs in different ways. You adjust and you look to find other ways to continue to generate the revenue you need to generate for the organization."
A general one about the team. Talking to Bob, talking to Ben Cherington, talking to Derek Shelton, this is an important year for what's being built, what's going forward here. This year, what should the fan confidence being going into this year, in your opinion?
"I certainly like the optimism we're seeing down here in spring training. When we came down here for the opening of the camp, I think the word 'competition' was used quite a bite. We went from 'opportunities' to 'competition,' and I think that's evident in what you're seeing. What I'm really excited about was the work that was done in the offseason. We had a clear vision — and there's regular communication between Bob and myself — we had a clear vision this was not going to be an overnight transformation. We weren't going to flip the switch. It was going to take a little bit of time. We've obviously had some headwinds in COVID and having limited time to develop players in camps. The work stoppage didn't help last year in terms of limiting last year on the front end. Things like that, but that's not an excuse. We know that we had two 100-loss seasons. We certainly weren't happy with the results. I don't think Ben, Derek, Bob or myself would tell you that we'd be lying if we were happy with the results on the field last year.
"Now, results are different than progress, right? We know there's various reasons for those results, but at the same time, we're very pleased with the progress Ben and Derek are making throughout the minor leagues and into the major-league level. What I'm really excited about is we've set ourselves in what we wanted to accomplish in the offseason for 2023. Making sure we were focused on winning in '23, but also making sure we're not doing anything to harm our ability to move towards that playoff-, championship-caliber team in '24 and beyond. I think that we've got this young talent that's up here that's going to get a lot of opportunity to play. You're going to get a lot of innings to pitch, you're going to get a lot of innings to play, you're going to get a lot of at-bats, and they're going to continue to get a chance to develop, which is important at the major-league level, and the opportunity to get to prove themselves. That they're going to be a core part of that.
"At the same time, we knew there were going to be some positions that we weren't quite ready. Didn't have the talent, they weren't quite ready at the major league level, but still coming through the system. Focusing in on those, like first base, like catcher, in order to really shore those up, and I think Ben has done a great job supplementing that with players like McCutchen, like [Carlos] Santana. Not only bringing in veteran talent that can still play at a high level, but I think also guys who are going to be really good influences on that young talent as they develop.
"I think if I was to say how success[ful we were] this offseason, how pleased am I, I'm very pleased with how we've set ourselves up going into this season. Extremely excited and optimistic about what this team is going to be able to do. I know Shelty's going to have these guys, day-in and day-out, to have these guys ready to [play] baseball. They're going to try to win every day, and I think our fans have a lot to be excited about."
Swinging for the fences again here with a specific player, Bryan Reynolds. With what transpired at the winter meetings, the trade request, did that have any bearing on your end?
"I won't comment in terms of if it had bearing. We don't talk about contract discussions or negotiations, and at the appropriate time, I think Ben will talk about that. I will just comment on Bryan.
"Set aside what happened at the winter meetings between his agent and Ben, I think at the end of the day, we really like and believe in Bryan Reynolds as a person and as a player. I think he's a talented individual, talented ball player. We would like to find a way for him to be a part of this organization long-term and still may be able to make that work. I'm also confident that Bryan, regardless of whether that works, knows that he's a Pittsburgh Pirate and he's going to go out there and wear the black and gold with pride every day and he's going to play really hard. That's the type of guy he is. That's a lot of the reason why we really like him and would like him to be a part of this organization long-term. I'm not concerned whatsoever with what transpired. Those things happen and it's just noise, in my opinion.
"At the end of the day, what really matters is Bryan Reynolds knows that we like him and love him and that we want to see him wear black and gold for as long as possible. And we also know that he wants to go out there and play hard everyday in the black and gold, and be part of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization."
