Altoona Curve
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Altoona Curve Founded in 1998 Altoona, Pennsylvania |
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| Class-level | |||||
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| Current | Double-A (1999–Present) | ||||
| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| League | Eastern League (1999–present) | ||||
| Division | Western Division | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Current | Pittsburgh Pirates (1999–present) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (1) | 2010 | ||||
| Division titles (2) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Nickname | Altoona Curve (1999–Present) | ||||
| Colors | Red, black, bronze, gray, white |
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| Ballpark | Peoples Natural Gas Field (1998–present) | ||||
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Owner(s)/
Operator(s) |
Lozinak Baseball, LLC | ||||
| Manager | Michael Ryan | ||||
| General Manager | Derek Martin | ||||
The Altoona Curve is a minor league baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a kind of pitch). The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Curve plays in Peoples Natural Gas Field, located in Altoona; it was opened in 1999 and seats 7,210 fans.
The Altoona Curve hosted the Eastern League All-Star Game at Blair County Ballpark on July 12, 2006, before a standing-room-only crowd of 9,308.
The Altoona Curve franchise began when Arizona and Tampa Bay were both awarded major-league franchises in which were to start playing in the 1998-season. The addition of these two teams had a domino effect through baseball with the expansion of not only the major leagues, but throughout minor-league baseball as well. With this expansion, AA baseball received two new teams to begin play in the 1999 season. The Erie SeaWolves were already an established minor-league team with outstanding short-season attendance, and were quickly awarded one of the new franchises. The second spot in the new, larger Eastern League looked to be headed to Springfield, Massachusetts, but city native Bob Lozinak, developer Tate DeWeese, businessman Mark Thomas and a group of Pennsylvania lawmakers rallied to get the final spot, making a formal presentation to league officials on October 5, 1997. The proposal received unanimous support and Altoona won the other franchise.
Groundbreaking on Blair County Ballpark took place on March 7, 1998, and the franchise was formally awarded in April. In June of that year, the "Curve" nickname was selected over several other proposals, including Lake Monsters, Ridge Runners, and the Altoona Fish.
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