The Pittsburgh Pirates and PNC Bank are taking six neighborhood businesses to the big leagues. Yesterday, the club tapped six Pittsburgh-area small businesses for its Going to Bat for Small Business program for the 2026 season, handing each a marketing package worth up to $100,000, a $5,000 cash grant, and exposure across Pirates platforms. The honorees are SwingCity Sports, HandinHand Counseling Services, Pittsburgh Dance Workshop, Fat Butcher, Hop Farm Brewing Company, and Brave Bean Coffee. For many of these outfits, the prize is a mix of broadcast, in-stadium, and digital promotion that would normally be way out of budget.
What Winners Will Receive
The package stacks together broadcast and in-park assets, including 30-second television and radio commercials, in-broadcast drop-ins, social media promotion, ribbon-board and scoreboard recognition, plus a premium suite night aimed at driving customers to the featured businesses. Each winner also receives a $5,000 cash award that can be used for everyday operations or growth plans. The idea is to plug local businesses straight into the team’s production and marketing machine so they can reach customers at a scale most small shops cannot touch, according to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
How The Winners Were Chosen
A selection committee made up of media members, past program winners, and representatives from local chambers and community organizations sorted through nominations and picked six businesses based on entrepreneurship and community impact. The program is open to companies across Allegheny County and the surrounding counties, and organizers note that one business is showcased each month of the season. The nomination process and selection criteria were laid out when the program relaunched this year, according to WPXI.
Program Origins And Track Record
Going to Bat for Small Business started in 2020 as a pandemic-era support effort and has since shifted into an annual program that leans on marketing exposure instead of large one-time operating grants. Organizers say that over its run, the initiative has sent millions of dollars in marketing assets to local firms, and this year’s class joins dozens of past winners who have used that exposure to grow their audience, as reported by the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Local Businesses, Local Impact
The six winners cut across a wide slice of the local economy: SwingCity Sports focuses on youth training and camps, HandinHand Counseling Services offers mental health care, Pittsburgh Dance Workshop runs arts education programs, Fat Butcher is a whole-animal butcher shop in Upper Lawrenceville, Hop Farm Brewing Company is a Lawrenceville brewery, and Brave Bean Coffee is a service-disabled, veteran-owned roaster. Each business will get its own month in the spotlight during the season, with in-game recognition and broadcast spots designed to turn ballpark and broadcast visibility into customers and bookings, per the Pirates program page.
The winners will be featured month-by-month throughout the Pirates’ 2026 home schedule, with pregame segments, in-stadium activations, and digital pushes planned across the season. Fans and business owners looking for more information on the program or future nomination periods can turn to local coverage and the program announcement in the Pittsburgh Business Times.
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