The Pirates won't try to block the proposed North Shore casino from pressing forward with its plans despite their appeal to the state Supreme Court of a city planning commission approval relating to the development.

Although the team asked the Supreme Court to stay any further approvals by the city while the appeal is pending, it doesn't intend to actively pursue that request at this time, spokesman Brian Warecki said yesterday.

He said the request for the stay was included in the appeal as a "worst-case scenario" in the event that negotiations over traffic issues end up going nowhere. He said the Pirates still have the option of requesting the stay if talks fall apart.

"Our focus remains on working with all the parties involved to ensure that we come to a satisfactory solution for everyone. The appeal is part of the process and necessary to protect our rights and to assure that the voice of our fans is heard," he said.

The Pirates and Steelers filed appeals last Thursday with the Supreme Court contesting the planning commission approval of the casino master plan. The Steelers did not request a stay.

Both teams are upset that a traffic study of the casino's impact on games and other events at Heinz Field and PNC Park was not done before the master plan was approved May 29. Instead, the planning commission gave casino developer Don Barden and his company, PITG Gaming LLC, until Sept. 30 to complete such a study.

The Steelers and Pirates fear that casino traffic will greatly delay fans in getting into and out of the North Shore. The Pirates estimate in their appeal the traffic could add up to 90 minutes to the commutes of their fans and up to 2¹/₂ hours for Steeler fans.

However, the teams are still working with city and Allegheny County officials to resolve the traffic issues. Mr. Warecki said the appeal is "not going to change the focus at the table. We're working with all of the parties involved to get it done. We're very hopeful that the discussions under way will lead to a satisfactory resolution of the traffic congestion issue."

Meanwhile, Mr. Barden is expected to be before the city planning commission again this month to get approval for the casino footprint and steel frame. That will followed by the exterior design, including building materials.

His spokesman, Bob Oltmanns, said the casino intends to "move ahead as quickly as we're able to from an operational perspective and a legal perspective" regardless of last week's appeals.

Mr. Barden hopes to be in position to start construction quickly if the state Supreme Court rules in his favor on separate appeals filed by the losing bidders challenging his victory in the award of the Pittsburgh casino license.

Arguments on those appeals were heard May 15, but there has been no decision from the court.