A seat for all seasons
Modern ballpark design emphasizes more variety in the fan experience
Editor’s note: Part three of a three-part series that profiles the project to build a new Triple-A ballpark in Allentown, Pa.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – On an unsavory night for April baseball, where the game-time temperature at Coca-Cola Park was 43 degrees, few of the announced 5,745 fans stayed to the end. But there were still plenty of people vying for the hottest seats in the house – the ones located in the indoor bar area on the club level, an accommodation that’s one of the many modern stadium amenities incorporated into the park’s design.
As the PawSox applied the finishing touches to a 14-7 win over the host IronPigs, the bar area on the club level at Coca-Cola Park proved a most popular spot even as the bleachers and grandstands emptied. Picture walking into your favorite neighborhood establishment and not finding a seat at the bar. If you’re lucky, maybe a plush spot is available in the lounge area that’s located not too far from the bar. Fans can follow along on one of many televisions thanks to Service Electric Cable TV Inc., which broadcasts all IronPigs home games.
“There’s people still here and they’re having a good time. Except they’re indoors,” said Kurt Landes, president/general manager of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
The Opening Day scene epitomized Lehigh Valley’s somethingfor-everyone approach to their consumers – the quality of the paying customer’s experience isn’t totally defined by what’s happening on the field.
From two rows of seats located in front of the two left-field bullpens – appropriately dubbed “pig-pen seating” – to the sponsorbased Capital Blue Tiki Terrace near the left-field foul line, to the Bud Light Trough, which is a bar/patio area located down the first-base line, Coca-Cola Park is littered with cool spots to watch and enjoy a Triple-A contest.
Different vantage points and differing fan experiences have helped make the game-watching experience more intimate and unique.
When the doors opened to Coca-Cola Park in 2008, the seating capacity was 8,200. Today, it’s up to 8,500 fixed seats, with the potential to fit 10,000 when factoring in standing room areas and the berm located in left-center field, appropriately named “pigs on a blanket.”
“People told us we needed to be at 10,000 seats, but we felt around 8,000 was the right number for our market,” Landes said. “By creating some demand for our tickets, that helped create more demand for our hospitality spaces and luxury suites.”
There’s 20 suites on the club level at Coca-Cola Park, some of which are rented out on a game-bygame basis. Downstairs on the field level are four dugout suites. Typically, those are sold out by early February.
“People want those areas and they’re very popular,” Landes said. “There’s something for everybody.”
That’s especially true for the ticket prices to see an IronPigs’ game. If you just want a plain old ticket, it’s $8 in advance and $10 the day of the game. If you want to buy a hot dog, the cost is $2. There’s a $21 ticket that includes wait service and a $45 ticket for an all-you-can-eat luxury suite.
“Those prices compared to Boston or Philadelphia are extremely affordable,” Landes said. “The kind of success we’ve been fortunate to enjoy kind of feeds on itself. Even now when we do well attendance-wise, it drives our corporate partnerships to be strong. When those are strong, it allows us to keep our ticket and concession prices low. It’s a cycle you don’t want to break.”
The franchise has also worked to keep the park up-to-date in terms of technology. This year, the team installed a new 43-by-73-foot HD videoboard – the largest in Minor League Baseball – and also put down a brand-new playing surface. Smaller video boards have also been added through the years.
“Our owners [Joe Finley and Craig Stein] have continually allowed us to do things to reinvest in the ballpark. That’s been a huge part of our success,” Landes said. “We’ve done a lot of work to make sure the facility always feels new and not old.”
On a promotions level, Lehigh Valley took its brand to a different level by engaging in what’s being hailed in minor league circles as the ultimate food fight. The “beef” between the IronPigs and the Triple-A Fresno Tacos is being decided through an online poll, with the losing team forced to wear the other team’s cap on-field for a game in June.
“Triple-A markets used to be more traditional and closely resembled the big leagues. Now it’s more of a Single-A mentality,” Landes said. “Once we got the fans, we were able to keep them and expose them to a different level of entertainment.”
Landes estimated that CocaCola Park is in use between 225250 days a year. It could be as simple as a baseball camp or a chamber or rotary function, or as elaborate as a beer or wine festival. The IronPigs employ staff members who have nothing to do with minor-league baseball. Their job is to coordinate events that include renting out the parking lot for boat and RV shows, or the food truck festival that’s scheduled for next month.
“You don’t have to be a baseball fan to want minor-league baseball in your community,” Landes said.
Borrowing from “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” the baseball production at Lehigh Valley is far more than just peanuts, Cracker Jack, or whether the home team wins. It’s about targeting fans regardless of how old you are or the budget you’re operating within. It’s a model that’s proven to be a winning recipe in one Triple-A community, and one the PawSox are looking to emulate as the drumbeat to find a new home in Pawtucket grows louder.