The power of a basically new ballpark: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Class AAA; International League) drew 435,839 fans to PNC Field this season, the best year at the gate since 2008. In addition to the baseball attendance, a franchise-record 61 special events beyond baseball boosted the season-long attendance figure to 462,052. With the ability to host […]
Tag Archives | pnc field
RailRiders exceed 2011 attendance
Big milestone for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Class AAA; International League): the team has already drawn more fans to PNC Field than in all of 2011, before ballpark renovations began. A crowd of 7,294 yesterday pushed the team past the 2011 total. The team played on the road last season while the ballpark was being renovated. […]
RailRiders: We’ve already exceeded 2011 ticket sales
Nice milestone: the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Class AAA; International League) have already exceeded 2011’s number of tickets sold, with over 300,000 ducats purchased for PNC Field’s inaugural season. “This is a solid first step for our team and demonstrates our community’s interest in restoring our baseball games to the top of the list for fun, affordable […]
Crain guarantees good weather for RailRiders season opener
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Class AAA; International League) President/GM Rob Crain is making a bold prediction: he’s guaranteeing 60-degree weather on the April 4 season opener. He’s a brave soul: the long-term Moosic forecast for April 4 calls for a high of 48 degrees, with a chance of rain. “I guarantee that on Opening Day April 4 […]
New SWB moniker to be unveiled Nov. 14
The overhaul of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) is proceeding apace, with a new moniker set to be unveiled Nov. 14 and renovations to PNC Field on schedule. The team had settled on six finalists — Blast, Black Diamond Bears, Fireflies, RailRiders, Porcupines, Trolley Frogs — before leaving things to an open vote […]
The Week That Was: October 7
New Astros uniforms, potential new Rays ballparks, teams maneuvering for 2013 and ownership changes made headlines this past week. The top stories on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. Astros to unveil new uniforms Nov. 2 Loudoun Hounds: We have deal for 2014 ballpark Cubs pitch new seating behind Wrigley Field home plate Abundance […]
PNC Field renovation continues, but court battle for Yanks looms
The renovation of PNC Field, home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League), continues, even as the two counties that formerly owned the team prepare for a court battle over sale proceeds. The framing on the new second deck is done, and concrete is being poured. The construction team is racing the calendar to […]
Trolley Frogs, Blast, Porcupines highlight potential new SWB Yankees names
After culling through 2,700 submissions for a new team name, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) have settled on six finalists — and no, Red Barons is not on the list. In conjunction with a move to a renovated PNC Field for the 2013 season, the team is going through a rebranding exercise. After […]
SWB Yankees to dive right into 2013 season
No pressure here: the new Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) will begin the 2013 season at a renovated PNC Field on April 4 — the first day of the MiLB season. Normally teams opening a new ballpark open the season on the road to give everyone involved every possible minute to complete their tasks. […]
Boston Rob ready for Yankee challenges
This coming offseason may be the most important one ever for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League), but we’re thinking new president/GM Rob Crain will be up to the challenge. Crain, tapped earlier this month to lead the franchise, certainly has a lot on his plate. First, he’ll need to oversee the re-opening of […]
Life on the road for SWB Yankees: Living out of a suitcase
It’s rare that you see an affiliated team spend an entire season on the road, but Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) players seem to be taking it in stride. Though the SWB Yankees are marginally headquartered in the Rochester area — playing 17 games at Frontier Field and a handful more in nearby Batavia […]
Goodbye, SWB Yankees: Name-the-team contest announced
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) moniker will be gone as the end of the season, as the team launches a name-the-team contest for 2013. The entry form for the contest can be found here. The contest coincides with a return of the team to a renovated PNC Field for the 2013 season. “In […]
The Week That Was: May 20
Tearing down ballparks, Chicago politics of all sorts and the future of the Oakland Athletics made the list of the most popular stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. WSJ: Tear down Wrigley Field now! Upper deck of PNC Field coming down this week Logos released for NAL’s Sonoma […]