Peter Diana, Post-Gazette photos Freddy Sanchez signs autographs during the Pirates' first full-squad workout at Bradenton.

By Robert Dvorchak
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette BRADENTON, Fla. -- As a die-hard fan who has made the pilgrimage to Pirate City for years, Al Downing cherishes the sounds of spring training -- the sharp crack of a wooden bat hitting a ball, the resonant pop of a leather mitt when it catches a fastball, the dull cloppity-clop of cleats on the concrete as the players move from field to field.

	A fan sits in the sun watching the Pirates pitcher and catchers take batting practice during workouts at Pirate City, Bradenton. Click photo for larger image. More coverage: Spring Training: Charging, gloving, throwing ... and getting?

But this year, Mr. Downing, 71, and other fans could detect some additional noise: heavy equipment growling and churning as it tore down the Pirates' offices and a three-story dormitory.

Rebuilding is a word often associated with the Pirates as they struggle to break out of the worst losing stretch in franchise history. But rebuilding is also applicable to some spring training buildings, which had been rendered unusable because of an infestation of mold.

"The real mold has been there for 14 years," Mr. Downing said, in a half-joking reference to his team's moldy, musty, dusty string of losing seasons.

"I've been a fan for 60 years, and I can remember being 11 years old and sitting in Forbes Field to watch Ralph Kiner bat," he added. "I'll go to games whether they win or lose, but my son won't. He asks me why would anybody pay to go see losers."

There's always hope, the hallmark of spring and baseball. And it's that hope that still attracts fans like Mr. Downing, a retiree who owns T.J.D. Sporting Goods Store in East Liverpool, Ohio.

The organization recently qualified for a Florida state grant of $15 million, which will be matched by the city of Bradenton and Manatee County, to spruce up Pirate City and McKechnie Field.

The Pirates also signed a new 30-year lease, double the amount of the normal leases for spring training venues, in exchange for improvements. Pirate City will get new offices, a new three-story dormitory, world-class workout facilities and a fifth practice field.

Five miles away at McKechnie Field, lights will be added, and next year the Pirates will play two night home games -- their first here. The field will also get a new visitors' clubhouse, an expanded home clubhouse and an expanded practice field.

"It's a marriage," said Wayne Poston, mayor of Bradenton, where the Pirates have trained since 1969. "That's why we worked this out. The Pirates like our community. We like having them. We think the deal serves us well over time. Baseball is not a fast game. Baseball isn't rushed by a clock. It's a game you enjoy. There's nothing better than spring training baseball."

A $450 million boost

Charm and tradition still hold sway. How could they not when fans can gather under cloudless azure skies, with temperatures in the 80s and the sunblock in the 30s, amid the greenery of swaying palm trees just down the road from the orange groves of Mixon's Fruit Farm and nine miles from the sugar-white sand of the Gulf of Mexico beaches on Anna Maria Island?

But there's a business side apparent in spring baseball that's only getting bigger.

The influx of tourists and snowbirds means a $450 million boost to the Florida's economy, according to a 2000 study by the Florida Sports Foundation. That means that the 19 teams in the 18 Florida venues pull in $16 million to $24 million for the towns that have teams. It also explains why the state doles out grants to keep their tenants happy.

"Spring training in March is roughly the equivalent of having a Super Bowl every day," said David Cardwell, executive director of the Grapefruit League Association. "Cities and states would bend over backwards to have a Super Bowl."

But teams are also cashing in. Grapefruit League attendance reached an all-time high last year, with the Pirates among the teams posting attendance records.

This year, the Pirates raised ticket prices from 20 percent to 40 percent; and tickets cost another dollar more for games against the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Braves and Indians. Still, the most expensive seat in the house costs $15 or $16, and grandstand seats sell for $8 or $9.

Those prices are among the lowest in baseball. The Red Sox, for example, charge $44 for home plate seats but still have sold out 47 straight home games. The Yankees offer Bright House Networks Dugout luxury boxes for $22,800 a year, with a minimum commitment of three years. But Yankees tickets are as scarce as a snowman in Tampa. Internet brokers are offering Yankees tickets for $300 or more per game because the demand exceeds supply.

"There's been an evolution," said Mr. Cardwell, who is based in Orlando. "Spring training used to be about player development costs. Now it's a revenue opportunity."

He used to negotiate leases with the baseball side of an organization. Now he deals with the vice president of business affairs.

There's still a distinction between cost and value for baseball fans like Tom and Francie Dinnin, and their friends, Bill and Stephanie Birkmeyer, who live in Oakmont and winter in Florida.

Mr. Dinnin showed off his tickets for the home game with the Yankees, the first row from the field, while the talk centered on how the Pirates players walk down the first base line toward the right field bullpen. The atmosphere is intimate, the players are much more approachable and the sun is as warm as the beer is cold.

"For $16, I get to watch the Yankees, and I'm closer to the field than the pitcher is to the catcher. This is fantastic," said Mr. Dinnin, a season ticket holder at PNC Park.

"Spring baseball is symbolic of a fresh start," added Mrs. Dinnin, whose visor was adorned with player signatures obtained at Pirate City. "You're also closer to the field. We may catch a foul ball. We may get an autograph. What's the credit card commercial say? Priceless? It's baseball the way it's supposed to be."

Baseball's marketing geniuses are constantly offering new merchandise to keep the cash registers ringing. The Pirates have new batting practice caps with splashes of red on the sides, and the batting practice jersey has red and gold stripes on the sides. Both are available for purchase.

Still, the most popular item for sale at the Pirates Clubhouse Store is a T-shirt that maps out the spring training sites of the various teams.

Attack of the killer mold

McKechnie Field, named for Hall of Fame manager and longtime Bradenton resident Bill McKechnie, was upgraded in 1993 with a white Spanish Mission-style facade.

But the new makeovers were necessitated by the outbreak of an insidious mold in spring 2005 at Pirate City. The practice complex sits on the site of an old landfill -- insert your own punch line here -- and buildings were sinking and weren't sealed at the foundation level. Heavy rains from recent hurricanes added to the wet conditions on which mold thrives.

The Pirates were one of five teams to qualify for state money matched by local communities.

"It would have cost more to repair than to knock the buildings down and start over," said Trevor Gooby, director of Florida operations for the Pirates. "We needed an upgrade, and everyone was thrilled. We never ever considered going anywhere else. From Bob Nutting on down, Bradenton is where we wanted to stay."

Clubhouse improvements at Mc- Kechnie were sorely needed, too. The new lights -- and night baseball -- were pushed more by the city than the team. Instead of the field sitting idle for 11 months of the year, Bradenton hopes to attract the state high school baseball championships, the junior college World Series, concerts and community events.

Parking could be an issue at night, and ushers are all volunteer retirees from the Bradenton Booster Association. But night games will draw more school students and probably provide more TV revenue.

"I don't know if there's another ballpark in the whole country that doesn't have lights. There probably isn't one," Mr. Gooby said. "We want to make it as fan-friendly as possible without losing the charm."

The Pirates have perhaps the most laid- back, accessible training camp in baseball. Players pose for pictures and sign autographs between practice sessions, and crowds gather at the quadrangle where four practice diamonds meet.

You can see Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski hit grounders to infielders on a practice area named Mazeroski Field. Old-timers can remember seeing Honus Wagner in uniform as a coach or recall the playing days of Lloyd and Paul Waner, and practice fields are named after them as well. But there are also first-time visitors like Tony and Laura Magliano and their three kids. They're from Long Island and are Mets fans, but they were visiting family in the area and stopped by to watch and collect autographs.

Fans may not like losing streaks and crass commercialism. They may joke about the commissioner not going to see Barry Bonds break the all-time home run record, perhaps the most hallowed number in sports. They may scratch their heads about Gary Matthews Jr. signing a $50 million contract before his named surfaced in a recent steroids investigation. But the game still matters.

"The fact is, you can always count on spring training. There's a timelessness to it. It comes back every year, and when it does, it's like you never left," said Jack Steele, 64, a retired Air Force colonel who volunteers with the Bradenton Boosters. "Everybody's hopes are up. It speaks of rebirth and renaissance. Thirty days into the regular season, those hopes may be dashed. But then you can start thinking of next year. It's a game we love."

Teams like the Rangers and the Royals have forsaken Florida for Arizona. The Dodgers are leaving Vero Beach for the desert as well. But there still is stability in traditions.

"Fans who come back every year sit in the same seats. They know where everything is. There's a real allegiance and loyalty and connection," said David Cardwell. "Bradenton becomes the southern home of Western Pennsylvania. Lakeland, where the Tigers train, becomes a miniature version of southeastern Michigan in February and March. It's like Mecca."