Pirates’ Bucco Brick Plaques Revealed at PNC Park

It fulfills the plan the Pirates announced last July that they would include 60 bronze plaques on the facade of PNC Park along both West General Robinson Street and Mazeroski Way. Each bronze plaque stands five feet tall and six feet wide, including nearly 170 messages on each one. and

This display replaces the Bucco Bricks, which were originally in the ground around PNC Park, and hangs them for display, ensuring their longevitiy and lack of expenses for consistent replacement.

It also features the same elements of the Bucco Bricks, with the commemorative pavers categorized by year and also a QR code for fans to scan and find the message.

History of Bucco Bricks and 2025 Fiasco

The Pirates began the "Bucco Bricks" program in 1999, which allowed fans of the team the opportunity to purchase personalized bricks with messages that would go on the main terrace of PNC Park, which they built two years later in 2001 in place of soon-to-be demolished Three Rivers Stadium.

Pirates fans bought approximately 10,000 bricks, many of which they used to honor their family members and friends, as well as themselves, making for a nice memory for those that deceased loved ones with the ball club.

The Pirates announced following the 2024 season that they would replace the bricks over the winter, which marked the third time doing so, as they had deteriorated due to years of exposure to the elements and wear and tear from fans walking over them.

Fans went to the home opener at PNC Park last April and were surprised the bricks were not only gone, but that there was paved cement there as well.

Those wondering what happened to the Bucco Bricks soon found out that they ended up in a recycling plant outside of Pittsburgh, where they would be destroyed, which drew fury from those who had purchased them years prior.

Pirates team president Travis Williams and owner Bob Nutting apologized for the incident and gave fans a chance to get a free commemorative replica of the brick as well.

The Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (SEA) would release their own investigation into the matter, which showed that after excavating all the bricks, they wrapped them up on wooden pallets to give back to fans.

SEA found out that the Pirates then sent those pallets out to be destroyed, instead of giving the bricks back to the fans if they wanted them.