OnlyBucs

We all realize that the Pirates situation is mainly due to the owner unwilling to invest in an average ML payroll. Unlike other sports there is no salary floor that would force spending to a competitive level. ML baseball cannot force Nutting to sell or reprimand him for doing what is within the guidelines of the sport.

So what are the options?

I wonder if the City of Pittsburgh can force his hand?

The city owns PNC Park. Pirates ownership has not in good faith abided by their promise to keep their key players and put a winning organization on the field in return for the city paying for a new ballpark with added luxury suite revenues.

I don’t know what the PNC lease looks like.

I wonder if it is possible for the city to claim that the Pirates have basically defaulted on the terms of the stadium deal

If so, could the city jack up the rent to a hugely inflated value with the premise that if the Pirates reinvested that increase into their player payroll then the actual rent would continue to be the same.

Just trying to think out of the box here.

I agree that pressure has to come from outside of MLB.  I'd love to see the city/county and the CEOs of the area's largest corporations apply that pressure, at first in private and, if that doesn't work, then publicly. 



I know the fans tried a boycott once before that failed miserably but I'd like to see a new and different effort started, this time by the season ticket holders.  If enough of them didn't renew for 2021, and made a big public display of their action, that might gain some traction.  A ballpark with less than 2000 fans in attendance, especially on Opening Day, would look mighty embarrassing night after night.

164056424D57474C4156644349454D480A47240 wrote: I agree that pressure has to come from outside of MLB.  I'd love to see the city/county and the CEOs of the area's largest corporations apply that pressure, at first in private and, if that doesn't work, then publicly. 



I know the fans tried a boycott once before that failed miserably but I'd like to see a new and different effort started, this time by the season ticket holders.  If enough of them didn't renew for 2021, and made a big public display of their action, that might gain some traction.  A ballpark with less than 2000 fans in attendance, especially on Opening Day, would look mighty embarrassing night after night.
2000 on opening day- that I would love to see!!