PNC Field

Infobox_Baseball_Stadium
stadium_name = PNC Field
nickname =


location = 235 Montage Mountain Rd
Moosic, PA 18507
broke_ground =
opened = April 26, 1989
closed =
demolished =
owner = Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania (1988-Present)
operator = Lackawanna County Stadium Authority (1989-2006)
Mandalay Baseball Properties (2006-Present)
surface = Artificial Turf (1989-2007)
Grass (2007-Present)
construction_cost = $25 million USD
architect =
former_names = Lackawanna County Stadium (1989-2007)
tenants = Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (International League) (1989-2006)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (International League) (2007-Present)
seating_capacity = 10,982
dimensions = Left Field - 330 ft
Center Field - 408 ft
Right Field - 330 ft

PNC Field, formerly Lackawanna County Stadium (1989-2007), is a 10,982-seat minor league baseball stadium in Moosic, Pennsylvania (between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre). The stadium was opened on April 26, 1989, and is the home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. The field's dimensions and turf surface were designed to match those of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, then home to the Red Barons' original major league affiliate, the Philadelphia Phillies. Lackawanna County sold the naming rights to PNC Bank on February 1, 2007.

Operations of both the stadium and the Yankees' franchise will be taken over by Mandalay Baseball Properties for the 2007 season, coinciding with the first year of the Yankees' affiliation to the New York Yankees. Previously, the stadium and franchise were managed by the Lackawanna County Stadium Authority, which was heavily criticized for being constantly mired in county politics.

As part of the agreement with Mandalay, the county will replace the turf field with a sand-based bluegrass playing surface identical to the one at Yankee Stadium for the start of the 2007 season. Mandalay is also removing the top four rows of the stadium's upper deck, and relocating those seats to the former bleacher areas in the lower deck along the first and third base lines. [cite news
last = Jennings
first = Chad
title = Yankees' Triple A Team Moving In
publisher = The Citizens' Voice
date = 2006-10-11
url = http://www.citizensvoice.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17311010&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=460522&rfi=6
accessdate = 2006-10-24] The resulting change in seating capacity has yet to be announced.

Through 2006, the stadium also hosted the [http://www.tob.org Tournament of Bands] Atlantic Coast Championships for high school marching band, as well as home games of Scranton Preparatory School's football team. These, and all other non-baseball events, will no longer be hosted at the stadium beginning in 2007, due to its conversion to a natural grass playing surface. [cite news
last = Jennings
first = Chad
title = A Sod Day At the Stadium
publisher = The Times-Tribune
date = 2006-11-15
url = http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17467200&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=418202&rfi=6
accessdate = 2006-11-27]

References

External links

* [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/ballpark/page.jsp?ymd=20051121&content_id=34771&vkey=ballpark_t531&fext=.jsp&sid=t531 SWBYankees.com - PNC Field]
* [http://www.ballparkwatch.com/stadiums/IL/swb.htm BallParkWatch - Lackawanna County Stadium - SWB Red Barons]
* [http://www.littleballparks.com/Stadium/2002/Moosic/Moosic.htm PNC Field Views - "Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues"]
* [http://www.frontiernet.net/~rochballparks3/scranton/scranton.htm Photographs of PNC Field - "Rochester Area Ballparks"]