FirstEnergy Stadium (Reading, Pennsylvania)
| America's Classic Ballpark | |
 
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| Former names | Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium GPU Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | 1900 Centre Avenue Reading, Pennsylvania 19601 |
| Coordinates | 40°21′57″N 75°56′1″W / 40.36583°N 75.93361°WCoordinates: 40°21′57″N 75°56′1″W / 40.36583°N 75.93361°W |
| Owner | City of Reading |
| Operator | Reading Baseball G.P. |
| Capacity | 9,000 |
| Field size | LF - 330 ft CF - 400 ft RF - 330 ft |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | July 26, 1947 |
| Opened | April 15, 1951 |
| Construction cost |
$656,674 ($6.06 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect | Muhlenberg Brothers |
| General contractor | Potteiger Construction Company |
| Tenants | |
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Reading Indians (EL) (1952–1961) Reading Red Sox (EL) (1963–1964) Reading Fightin Phils (EL) (1967–present) |
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FirstEnergy Stadium is a 9,000-seat baseball-only stadium in Reading, Pennsylvania that hosted its first regular season baseball game in 1951. The park is home to the Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League. It was voted the second best place to see a baseball game by Minor League News in 2006. It is also the first ballpark to ever receive the annual Digital Ballparks.com Ballpark Of The Year Award, which it was awarded in 2002. It is the first American baseball stadium to reach a total attendance of ten million without ever serving a team higher than AA.
On March 28, 1945, Reading City Council voted unanimously to purchase 27 acres of ground known as Cathedral Heights at a cost of $64,491 for the purpose of building a municipal stadium. In 1947 the grading of the land began and by 1949 the initial stages of construction could be seen. With a final price tag of $656,674, the stadium was completed on April 15, 1951. Named in honor of the service men and women who gave their lives for our country, Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium was dedicated on July 15 that same year.
The stadium was originally known as Reading Municipal-Memorial Stadium before corporate sponsorship resulted in its current name.
Mike Schmidt made his professional debut at the ballpark on June 17, 1971 in an exhibition game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Reading Phillies. The Phillies had signed Schmidt on June 11. In the exhibition game, Schmidt played the whole game at shortstop for the Phillies and hit the game-winning home run against Reading.
On July 13, 1977, The Reading Municipal Stadium hosted a concert by the band Chicago. To date, That was the only major entertainment event held at the 9,000-seat facility.
Prior to Municipal Stadium, Reading's professional baseball teams played at Lauer's Park.
In January 1989, Municipal Stadium experienced its first significant improvement in its then 36-year history. The wooden bench seating in the main grandstand was replaced by individual seats, and a roof was erected to cover 1,500 of those seats. The press box was also expanded as a part of the project, which cost more than $500,000.
The third base picnic area was built between the 1989 and 1990 season at a cost of $125,000. The right field food court was started and completed during the 1991-1992 off-season at a cost of $45,000.
After the 1992 season, the left field bleachers were demolished and a new grandstand was built in its place, which doubled that area's capacity to 1,600 seats.
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