The people who run this city and this state, meaning both politically and financially, need to get these people running the Pirates the hell out of Pittsburgh.
And no, a sentence like that could never be written lightly.
This isn’t about getting swept by the Diamondbacks with another hollow performance Sunday. Nor is it about losing 24 of the past 34 games. Nor about PNC Park being mostly empty night after night, even in June. Nor about fans being asked to show their undershirts at the stadium gates to check if they’re wearing garb protesting Bob Nutting, like that dude in the photo above who managed to sneak his through. Nor about whacking payroll by $20 million in the offseason. Nor about pocketing that infamous $50 million check from Major League Baseball in the spring. Nor about selling off more players right after selling off Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. Nor about a full decade of failure in all facets at all levels of the operation that’s lowlighted by, of all things, being the worst of all 30 teams at drafting and developing talent.
No, it’s not about any of that. Because it’s about all of it.
And it’s about this.
That link takes you to a copy of a letter, penned in Frank Coonelly’s name and undoubtedly with Nutting’s blessing, in which the Pirates are asking the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to give them a cut of the proceeds once sports betting becomes fully legal in the state, which could be any day now that the Supreme Court has OK’d it nationwide. And the letter, obtained by a national site called the Legal Sports Report, was made public under the headline: “Here is the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Insane Stance on Sports Betting.”
Kind of makes you swell with pride, huh?
What Coonelly asks, basically, is for the Board to hand over an unspecified amount of money for generally unspecified reasons that can best be summarized as, well, the Pirates looking to get even richer off the locals.
But hey, let’s go through the actual text, with Coonelly’s words from the letter in italics:
“Sports betting in Pennsylvania will have a profound impact on the Pirates, not only on a local level but on a larger league-wide level.”
The first sentence following the introduction, and the gunk is already knee-deep. Sports betting will have a profound impact on the leagues, not on any member teams. Each of North America’s four major professional sports establishes and enforces gambling policy at the league level.
Coonelly knows that. Nutting knows that. They even acknowledge later in the same paragraph that MLB has already reached out to the Board. Maybe they’re hoping the Board is really dumb and will want to hand money to the Pirates on top of any money they might stupidly give to MLB, which was a $10.2 billion business in 2017, largely because it’s succeeded in extorting governments across the country to build free stadiums.
But hey …
“As you know, the Pirates are a beloved pillar of the Pittsburgh community and of Southwestern Pennsylvania in general.”
Uh, of the Pirates as an institution, yeah. Of you guys, no, not exactly beloved.
Pull those boots a little higher. Here we go.
“Our fans are passionate and loyal, and we expect that many of them will welcome the opportunity to participate in a legal and regulated sports betting market in Pennsylvania. We strongly believe that Pennsylvania’s sports betting regulations should protect our fans and other consumers, usher sports betting out from illegal underground markets and safeguard the integrity of our games.”
OK, so they’re writing this to protect you, the fans, and the integrity of the game. Sounds noble.
“Maintaining the public trust in the integrity of our games is paramount.”
Sounds really noble!
“We are very concerned that the current iteration of the Regulation does not call for any portion of sports wagering to be set aside to ensure the integrity of the sports on which the wagering is based.”
And how might that magic happen?
“We believe an ‘Integrity Fee’ is essential to fund programs educating our players, fans and the general public regarding the potential involvement of unsavory characters and organizations that may attempt to alter the outcome of these sporting events.”
UNSAVORY CHARACTERS, YOU GUYS.
“The proceeds of this integrity fee would also allow teams such as the Pirates …”
SUCH AS.
” … to monitor betting lines and betting information internally.”
We’re finally getting warm here, and it’s pure gold. See, if the Pirates are the ones protecting everyone’s integrity, they’re also the ones receiving the money to do that. Because, you know, nobility.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEO
Wait. Incredibly, there’s more. The next paragraph takes a violent, though equally desperate turn.
“We think it is important to note that any revenue generated through sports wagering is largely dependent on organizations like the Pirates who actually supply the sports wagering product. Without professional sports, there can be no professional sports betting.”
Uh-oh.
“Providing a professional sports product is a costly endeavor.”
Wow, no, Frank. Don’t. Just don’t.
“While our landlord is responsible for capital repair and improvements at PNC Park, the Pirates are responsible for maintenance and operational expenses at PNC Park, which has consistently been named the premier ballpark in the country since its opening in 2001. The capital needs at PNC Park are significant and unfortunately are much higher than the current funds allocated to them by our landlord.”
My God, he’s going to …
“We have been engaged in constant dialogue over the past five to seven years with city, county and state officials about the need to allocate a funding source to the capital needs of PNC Park. It stands to reason that a portion of the revenue collected from sports wagering should be allocated to the maintenance and capital upkeep of PNC Park and the other sports-based facilities in Pennsylvania which provide for sports wagering in the first place. We are concerned that no such provision is included in the current law or the regulation.”
Yeah, he did. He just asked for government money, meaning taxpayer money, to help in the upkeep of PNC Park, which I know for a fact doesn’t amount to an eight-figure tab over a given year. After the Pirates were given PNC Park for free, and with the Pirates paying a paltry $250,000 in rent to their “landlord,” meaning the city’s Sports and Exhibition Authority.
They’re the best, these guys. Just the best.
That letter’s postmarked June 15, or 10 days ago, right in the midst of this awful collapse on and off the field. That’s where their heads are. That’s what’s occupying the attention of Coonelly and Nutting. How to squeeze an extra six-figure check from taxpayers, presumably since the taxpayers have, for the most part, stopped giving them money voluntarily.
Someone, please, get them out of here. Give them whatever final pennies or crumbs they want on top of the tens of millions of dollars the team is taking in profit each year, and ask in exchange only that the city’s once-proud institution is sold to someone who gives a damn. That will almost surely have to come through a push from politicians and, because politicians are motivated by money, the initial push will have to come from the people and companies in town with the big money.
It won’t be easy, and it won’t come without a fight, but it’s worth it.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Unsavory characters, indeed.
Pirates vs. Diamondbacks, PNC Park, June 24, 2018. – MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
