Pirates Build Cigar Bar in Pittsburgh

Michael Moretti
Posted: April 12, 2006

The good old days when you could light up in the stands and puff during a game are about as commonplace in today's major league baseball parks as fans dressing up in suits and hats to come to the stadium. At Pittsburgh's PNC Park, home base for the city's Pirates, they have gone above and beyond to bring the cigar back on the field with the new Montecristo Club cigar lounge.

The club came to the land of steel barons with a built-in clientele. A group of fans and some back office people had started a tradition of gathering on the Southwest Flight Deck at PNC, right under the massive scoreboard and above the Outback Steak House to enjoy cigars together. The gatherings got so big that Tim Schuldt, Pirates vice president of marketing, sales and broadcasting, said that nearly 200 people came at one point. Last fall when a space became available on the club level of the stadium one flight up, the team partnered with cigar giant Altadis U.S.A. Inc. to design a classic luxury cigar lounge complete with a full bar, service, and a place for the jazz or blues artist of the evening to play when the team was finished.

Pittsburgh is a good cigar town, said Janelle Rosenfeld vice president of advertising for Altadis U.S.A., in addition to strong sales in Pittsburgh, the city does not have a tax on tobacco and is not burdened by a statewide smoking ban.

Walk down the club level through two frosted, glass doors into Montecristo's dark wood interior. Plush leather couches arranged around coffee tables offer a prime spot to view the pre-game on one of the flat-screen televisions propped on the walls. When the pre-game is over you can go to the large window, which essentially is an entire wall of the club, overlooking the field below. Outside the window, there is a beautiful terrace where a few stadium seats on wheels can be rolled out. Downtown Pittsburgh looms to the right beyond the outfield. Unfortunately in an ironic twist of fate, you can't smoke out here, only inside the club due to the stadium's no smoking policy. However, the club's interior is equipped with a state-of-the-art filtration system, which keeps smoke from blowing or permeating to other parts of the park and adjusts itself to the number of attendees smoking in the room at one time. There are even vents inside the lights to suck up the smoke.

The club is going to have a full-season membership of 200 fans, with ample space to jump up and down or brandish a fist at an errant call. The first 100 full-season members get a personalized humidor locker inside the club. The club will feature a musical performance every Friday and Saturday after the games and will also house events on non-game days. The 81 home games, will feature a different Altadis cigar, including Montecristo Platinums, Romeo y Julietas and H. Upmann Vintage Cameroons. The bar will also feature top shelf spirits like Glenlivet Scotch, Markers Mark Bourbon and Ketel One vodka, all supplied by Southern Wine & Spirits.

A full-season membership to the club costs $4800 for two tickets per 81 home games. Access to the club is available for single games ($70 per ticket), 10-game ($675), 20-game ($1,300) and 40-game ($2,500) packages. There are also deals available, which include tickets and club passes to the All Star game coming to PNC this year.

Click here to read about the cigar bar at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay.