A new "water sport" is coming to Pittsburgh -- baseball. This week, the Forbes Field II Task Force recommended a North Side location for a new baseball park, close enough to the river's edge for home runs to land in the Allegheny.

The new ballpark will hug Pittsburgh's North Shore just west of the Sixth Street Bridge, bordering River Avenue and East General Robinson and Federal Streets. Both Mayor Tom Murphy and Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy strongly support the location, selected by the mayor's 24-member task force.

After narrowing down its choices, the task force selected the North Side over two sites in the Strip District and one in the Downtown Cultural District. The proposed design will seat up to 37,000, making it the smallest of the new Major League stadiums.

The North Side location offers many advantages:

• The site will provide a dramatic, distinctively Pittsburgh view. For example, the outfield will open up to a view of the downtown skyline.
• The location has the most favorable factors for commuters, such as transportation routes, parking, and pedestrian walkways.
• Both the Pirates and Steelers support the site.
• The North Shore area holds great promise for future development.

Ballpark supporters are enthusiastic about the location's development potential. They want to recreate the neighborhood vitality often associated with Forbes Field, which the Pirates called home before Three Rivers Stadium. Mayor Murphy envisions an entertainment center sprouting between Three Rivers and the new ballpark. Steelers owner Dan Rooney and Gateway Clipper fleet owner John Connelly would like to see nearby retail shops and malls.

Pirates Play, But Who Pays?

Two big questions remain: what's the name of the new ballpark and who will pay for it? Both questions will trigger much debate in the months ahead.

Although no one's suggesting a name at this point, Mayor Murphy has an optimistic plan for financing the baseball park. He has already asked the state to pitch in half of the construction costs, which are estimated between $187 and $208 million. The remaining half could come from private and regional public sources.

Critics claim the mayor's plan is much too optimistic. The ballpark project must compete for state funds along with all other regional requests, including renovations to the stadium and the Civic Arena. Insiders believe that the governor's check will cover only 15 to 20 percent of the total cost.

And Allegheny County has closed its checkbook, at least during the ballpark's construction. County commissioners Larry Dunn and Bob Cranmer have already said that they will not use county taxes to help build the new ballpark. They may, however, help out with infrastructure costs.

Whoever foots the bill, funding must be secured by February 1998 or McClatchy could sell the Pirates to an out-of-town buyer. Supporters are hopeful, however, that the new ballpark will bring back the nostalgic glory days of Forbes Field, while ushering in a new vitality to the Pittsburgh economy.