The business of baseball
Can a new ballpark spark an area’s commercial and retail renaissance?
By BRENDAN McGAIR
Editor’s note: Part two of a three-part series that profiles the project to build a new Triple- A ballpark in Allentown, Pa.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – For a community that for the longest time had been defined by skepticism due to the closing of one business after another, a chance to make a comeback was afforded through the avenue of minor-league baseball.
Thanks to the 2008 opening of Coca-Cola Park, the Triple- A venue of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, a region of three separate municipalities helped the area feel more unified. It wasn’t just Allentown versus Bethlehem versus Easton. The addition of the Iron Pigs started a rebranding overhaul that in turn helped to transform what was once an area you drove through on the way to Philadelphia, into a destination.
“Lehigh Valley was somewhat of a new moniker,” said Kurt Landes, the IronPigs’ president/general manager. “In the 10 years since we’ve opened, the escalation of the public’s perception in terms of what they deserve in the community has skyrocketed.”
How a new stadium for the PawSox would fit into Pawtucket’s long- range forecast was discussed earlier this month at Slater Mill.
The business forum entitled “20/ 20 Downtown Development Vision” was encouraging on many levels, most notably when PawSox chairman Larry Lucchino declared, “Our very strong preference is to stay home. The PawSox belong in Pawtucket.”
A new PawSox venue would represent just one part of a larger city-wide renaissance, city officials have stated. Still, as IronPigs officials and local political leaders will attest, the placement of a ballpark in an urban area can have significant reach when it comes to luring new attractions.
“I’m of the belief that companies that might consider locating here have employees who can go to the ballpark at night in the summer and enjoy a game in a suite the company buys. That’s a big asset,” said Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a quality of life component that’s always immeasurable. People feel good about their community. It’s a place for families to enjoy. It’s a place for corporations to entertain customers.”
There isn’t a restaurant or a hotel across the street from the stadium, but two large office buildings are located nearby. For the longest time, they were uninhabited. Now every office is accounted for.
Inside those offices is where you’ll find potential customers, ones who if they’re willing to make the roughly 100-yard walk to the front gates of Coca-Cola Park, can use a baseball game to unwind after a long day. Maybe those same workers elect to have the family join in for a night out at the local ballyard.
A sign on Airport Road in Allentown gives fans directions on how to reach CocaCola Park. Go within one mile in either direction and you’ll encounter a series of restaurants and hotels. Many of them sprouted up after the Iron Pigs made a sizeable splash on the local scene, buoyed by annually strong attendance figures.
A casino with a hotel opened its doors in Bethlehem in 2009. Professional hockey was given a lift when the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms moved into a new building in Allentown, the PPL Center, in 2014. One year later, pro soccer became part of the Lehigh Valley sporting culture as a team appropriately named Bethlehem Steel FC joined the United Soccer League.
None of those entertainment considerations were available prior to the firm commitment made by Lehigh Valley owners and front- office staff that brought Triple-A baseball to Eastern Pennsylvania.
Iannelli believes it was a key contributor to good vibes that are now felt throughout the region.
“Generally, it adds to the whole swagger of the attitude of the community,” Iannelli said, noting that the chamber he oversees is now the seventh largest in the country following the merger of 21 separate chambers.
Iannelli acknowledges that it is debateable how much of a direct economic impact pro sports may have on restaurants and retail in the nearby area.
“Pure economics, I’m not sure that’s the justification,” Iannelli said, “but what it does do is legitimize your community and puts you in a whole new stratosphere. The community gets mentioned far more, say in Philadelphia and sports in general, whether it’s ESPN or the like.
“The important thing here is people are saying Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs or Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It’s very clear that it’s not an Allentown or a Bethlehem asset. It’s a Lehigh Valley asset,” Iannelli added.