PITTSBURGH — A last-place baseball team already under siege from its fans is now also being scrutinized by its landlord — the government agency that is responsible for the publicly funded ballpark in which it plays.

The Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority commissioned an investigation into the team's removal — and disposal — of fan-funded Bucco Bricks outside PNC Park on the North Shore and found that the team acted alone in discarding thousands of commemorative bricks, days before the team's home opener, without informing local partners or fans of the decision.

"It was the Pirates, not the SEA or any of its contractors, that made the decision to dispose of the Bucco Bricks," the probe concluded.

The SEA hired Pittsburgh-based law firm Dentons Cohen & Grigsby to conduct the investigation. The firm presented its findings to the SEA on May 8. Investigators reviewed construction-related documents and interviewed representatives of the SEA, the project design engineer, the contractor and the Pirates. The report concluded that no public funds were used.

The brick pavers were part of a program introduced during the construction of PNC Park, in 1999, that allowed fans to purchase personalized bricks, many of them memorials to loved ones. They were displayed in front of the ballpark's home plate and left field entrances, and proceeds from the bricks' sales went to the Roberto Clemente Foundation.

The investigation found that the Pirates planned to remove the bricks for nearly three years as part of a $1.5 million sidewalk replacement project to fix cracked and uneven pavement around stadium entrances.

The project included detailed plans to preserve the bricks, the investigation found.

Instead, they ended up at a recycling center a few miles outside Pittsburgh.

Pirates spokesman Brian Warecki said that the team has replaced the bricks twice before after they suffered damage from weather and foot traffic. Before this repair project, fans had conveyed frustration that the bricks were "cracked and hard to read," he said.

During the renovations, the Pirates preserved the bricks while evaluating ways to display them, including reinstalling the pavers in a new, less-exposed location or creating a vertical display, Warecki said. But many of the bricks were "unsalvageable" and could not be returned to the original purchasers because the Pirates didn't have their contact information since the Bucco Bricks program was first run by a third party, he said.

"Having determined that reusing or returning the pavers were not viable options, we made the decision to dispose of the pavers," Warecki said.

He added that the team "should have been more proactive in our communication about the program."

Plans to preserve Bucco Bricks

The earliest drafts of project plans from 2022 and finalized contracts all contain measures to salvage the bricks, the investigation found.

A contract with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. stated that the engineering firm will "develop a plan to remove, relocate and offer for public salvage" all commemorative bricks. Investigators said that provision was included to provide the Pirates with the option to return the bricks to their original purchasers, make them available for retrieval by fans or otherwise preserve them.

Once the bricks were removed, contractors were directed to group them by year. Thirty-two sets of bricks were shrink-wrapped, labeled with corresponding years and handed over to the Pirates.

But on March 31, April 1 and April 2, the Pirates hired local hauling and recycling company Michael Brothers to pick up the bricks and drop them at a facility in Reserve Township. The Pirates covered all costs of transport and disposal, Warecki said.

Warecki said the team "never contemplated" returning the pavers to the original purchasers, "as it was nearly impossible to do so."

The Pirates have maintained a list of the original donor names and their messages and are committed to funding a new, permanent display at PNC Park, Warecki said.

"We are considering a multitude of options and look forward to sharing those exciting plans with our fans once finalized," he said.

The organization is also funding the production of free replica bricks for any original donor who requests one. So far, they have received around 3,500 requests, Warecki said. Donors were given the option to receive a replica keepsake brick when they first purchased bricks, he said.

Since the bricks were recycled, Pirates President Travis Williams said the team's handling of the situation was "flat out wrong," and Pirates owner Bob Nutting sent personal notes to some fans who expressed disappointment. The team also has publicly committed to funding a new display with the messages that were engraved on the original bricks.

"We are, and always have been, committed to ensuring that the essence of the program continues to live on at PNC Park," Warecki said.

Team faces criticism, but also gets praise

The SEA approved the sidewalk replacement project in September 2024. It was funded by a $950,000 state grant and about $384,000 from the Pirates, while remaining funds came from the SEA's PNC Park capital reserve fund, primarily supported by surcharges on Pirates tickets, Warecki said.

The project began in October 2024 and was completed in March.

"PNC Park, constructed in 2001, is in need of major upgrades and significant repair and replacement," an SEA application for state funding read. "The replacement of safe and efficient pedestrian access routes rises to the top as a priority."

The SEA was tasked with selecting contractors for the project, and chose Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. and P.J. Dick for the project's design and construction.

The bricks saga is one of several issues to dog the team this year:

A "sell the team" banner flew high over the stadium during the first home game; fans were upset at the replacement of a Roberto Clemente sign with an alcoholic beverage ad inside the ballpark; play was paused on the field when a fan fell 21 feet from the bleachers and suffered severe injuries; and video of a stadium employee whipping a fan with his belt went viral — all in the first nine weeks of play.

The Bucco Bricks investigation comes after fans demanded an inquiry at an April SEA board meeting.

The run on PR nightmares, paired with the team's continued losing — the Pirates sit firmly in last place in its division with the third-worst record in Major League Baseball — has brought more calls for Nutting to sell the team.

But how the team's front office responded has actually brought some praise.

Robert Healy, III, a professor of sports information and media at Duquesne University who teaches public relations and sports media courses, said the team has responded admirably to the sidewalk issue.

"How they handled the [Bucco] bricks situation is what you should do," he told the Post-Gazette last week. "They admitted wrongdoing from the highest level, and they are vowing to do better."

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