Penn Medicine Park

Forty-four years before the opening of Penn Medicine Park and the Lancaster Stormers' inaugural season, the Lancaster Red Roses entertained baseball enthusiasts for 20 years at Stumpf Field. Efforts for a new stadium and a new team began in 1987, and what was a long sixteen-year battle finally paid off with an announcement in 2003. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed to fund roughly half of the cost with Opening Day Partners and the city of Lancaster covered the remainder. The original plan in 2001 called for a proposed, $20-million ballpark to be constructed on the Diseley Farm site, across from Long's Park in Manheim Township. However, those plans were canceled because of residential concerns about traffic and political concerns about the use of eminent domain and rezoning.[http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/234730 Diseley Farm ballpark] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310105240/http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/234730 |date=2009-03-10 }} After this plan was terminated, most Lancaster County politicians preferred a downtown ballpark for urban renewal. The Lancaster County Redevelopment Authority settled on an industrial site on the corner of North Prince and Frederick streets, where a company called Ace Rents existed. Initially, Ace Rents stalled the process but quickly agreed as they did not want to cause a delay.[http://www.lchra.com/lchra_2008/07_reports_documents/newsletters/2004%20spring%20newletter%20files/spring%202004.htm Aces Rents relocated] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624105808/http://www.lchra.com/lchra_2008/07_reports_documents/newsletters/2004%20spring%20newletter%20files/spring%202004.htm |date=2009-06-24 }} The groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 28, 2004, and Penn Medicine Park was finished just before it opened on May 11, 2005.

With its brick façade and steel beams, the architecture of Penn Medicine Park alludes to its industrial surroundings. Located in the Northwest Corridor, the ballpark faces many downtown factories and spans a former rail yard.[http://www.openingdaypartners.com/design.cfm Clipper's architecture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003135035/http://www.openingdaypartners.com/design.cfm |date=2011-10-03 }} Coincidentally, this section of Lancaster city (between North Mary and North Charlotte Streets, south of the Harrisburg Pike) was historically known as the "base ball ground" circa 1886.

File:Lancaster ALPB ASG.png

On July 12, 2007, the Lancaster Stormers hosted the Atlantic League's tenth-anniversary All-Star Game at Penn Medicine Park. A crowd of 7,361 watched the opposing North Division win, 8-6. Lancaster players Jeremy Todd and Dominick Ambrosini both hit home runs, but it was not enough to put their South Division team ahead.{{Cite web |url=http://www.atlanticleague.com/cgi-bin/news/news.cgi?id=1184283743 |title=North Defeat South, 8-6, in Lancaster |website=The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball |access-date=2008-09-18 |archive-date=2007-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123163537/http://www.atlanticleague.com/cgi-bin/news/news.cgi?id=1184283743}}

On July 13, 2016, the Stormers hosted their second Atlantic League All-Star Game, joining their Freedom Division teammates to win by a score of 3-1.{{cite web |url=https://www.atlanticleague.com/archive/newswire/index.html?article_id=368 |title=The Atlantic League All-Star Game Set to Return to Lancaster |website=The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928121425/https://www.atlanticleague.com/archive/newswire/index.html?article_id=368 |archive-date=September 28, 2020}}

File:ClipperMagazine.jpg

The venue includes a Kid's Park with a birthday zone, a carousel, jungle gyms, a rock climbing wall, and various inflatables. Cylo's Clubhouse allows for youth to interact with the Stormers' bovine mascot, Cylo. Behind Section 13, the stadium features the Little Sluggers Dugout, an enclosed area for nursing mothers with a toddler play area and a television. The local Subaru dealer sponsors an outdoor area complete with bocce ball, corn-hole, a life-size Jenga, shuffleboard, ping pong, giant checkers, a kissing booth, and a barbershop corner.{{cite web | title="The Backyard" | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=https://www.lancasterbarnstormers.com/the-backyard/ | accessdate=September 20, 2019}} The area also features the Broken Bat Craft Beer Deck, which features a wide variety of Central Pennsylvania craft beer choices.{{cite web | title="Broken Bat Craft Beer Deck" | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=https://www.lancasterbarnstormers.com/broken-bat-craft-beer-deck/ | accessdate=September 20, 2019}} The Inside Corner Team Store located at the home-plate entrance features team apparel and souvenirs; it remains open throughout the year.{{cite web | title=About Clipper Magazine Stadium | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://www.lancasterbarnstormers.com/preview.cfm | accessdate=May 16, 2006}}

A mural honors Lancaster's professional baseball history, especially Richard M. Scott, the former mayor (1974–1979) who initiated the civic effort toward building Penn Medicine Park.File:Infield of Clipper Magazine Stadium (Lancaster, Pennsylvania).png

Before the 2013 Atlantic League season, the Stormers made a series of improvements to Penn Medicine Park. The first of these was a new playground for children along the third-base line featuring a foam-based protective floor. Other improvements included a renovated picnic area with new tents and a deck comprising synthetic materials instead of wood, a new right-field wall, landscaping beyond the outfield, and computerized irrigation controls.{{cite web | title=Home Run Harbor| work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=1153 | accessdate=April 13, 2013}}

The Lancaster Stormers added the Silverball Museum Arcade in time for the 2011 Atlantic League season. It is a coin-free attraction that includes nostalgic arcade games from the 1930s to some of the video games played in the present. Each machine possesses a description of its history and inspiration. The Silverball Museum Arcade also has televisions and multimedia detailing everything pinball.{{cite web | title=Pinball Museum to Open at Clipper Magazine Stadium | work=Ballpark Business | date=27 April 2011 | url=http://ballparkbiz.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/pinball-museum-to-open-at-clipper-magazine-stadium/#more-18816 | accessdate=April 29, 2011}}

In late 2012, an artist named Derek Parker installed his baseball stitches sculpture along Penn Medicine Park's main walkway on North Prince Street. It symbolically links the ballpark to Lancaster city. As the sixth Poetry Paths project completed by Franklin & Marshall College's Writer's House, the stitches also tie professional baseball and the arts. It includes the Le Hinton poem called "Our Ballpark" and is part of a $250,000 initiative by the Lancaster County Community Foundation to add art and poetry into Lancaster city's urban environment.{{cite web | title=Sculptor has Lancaster city's ballpark in stitches| work=Lancaster Online| date=15 August 2012| url=https://lancasteronline.com/news/sculptor-has-lancaster-citys-ballpark-in-stitches/article_cb379911-cf7c-5b24-ba58-ca03c32c873b.html | accessdate=February 5, 2013}}

On New Year's Eve 2010, Penn Medicine Park hosted its first celebration, "Countdown Lancaster". The event was coordinated with a concert, fireworks, and the Red Rose drop at nearby Binns Park.{{cite web | title=A New Year, A New Event for the City of Lancaster | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=692 | accessdate=December 25, 2010 }}

Penn Medicine Park is converted to an outdoor public ice-skating rink during the winter months so the Lancaster community may enjoy the ballpark in the off-season. Using state-of-the-art equipment, the right field segment of the ballpark is converted to an ice skating rink measuring 135 feet by 85 feet with skate rental available; the concessions serve ballpark fare as well as soup, coffee, and hot chocolate.{{cite web | title=Clipper Magazine Stadium becomes ice-skating rink | work=Atlantic League | url=http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/27513 | accessdate=November 7, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210094946/http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/27513 | archive-date=February 10, 2007 | url-status=dead }} In 2010, a 26-foot Ice Slide attraction by Avalanche Express was added to the Ice Park.{{cite web | title=Cooler Than Ever Before | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/icepark.cfm | accessdate=December 28, 2010 }}

In 2012, the Stormers held its first annual celebrity softball game, which was hosted by LeSean McCoy, an All-Pro running back on the Philadelphia Eagles and Harrisburg native. The contest pits the Eagles against professional football players from other teams in the National Football League. The 2012 Eagles roster featured Brent Celek, Hugh Douglas, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Torrey Smith, Michael Vick, and Brian Westbrook. Their opponents included Victor Cruz of the New York Giants, Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears, Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, Hakeem Nicks of the New York Giants, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, and Mike Wallace of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Any proceeds collected for the LeSean McCoy Celebrity Softball Game are directed to the LeSean McCoy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that serves to raise funds and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. LeSean McCoy is motivated by his grandmother's death due to ALS.{{cite web | title=LeSean McCoy Celebrity Softball Game | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=976 | accessdate=March 26, 2013}} Additionally, the Foundation also provides for the underprivileged in Central Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. Some of the money collected from the 2012 game provided Christmas toys to the Boys and Girls Club and the Salvation Army, sports gear to the Police Athletic League, a professional football game and a winter vacation for families affected by ALS, winter coats and backpacks containing necessary school supplies for impoverished children, and winter coats for a women's and children's shelter in Philadelphia.{{cite web | title=2013 Celebrity Softball Game | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=1143 | accessdate=March 26, 2013}}

Penn Medicine Park hosted various concerts, including rock musicians Bob Dylan, Bryan Adams, Def Leppard, Jefferson Starship, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Peter Frampton; country music artists Clint Black, Dwight Yoakam, and Willie Nelson; and smooth jazz instrumentalist Kenny G.

On July 16, 2009, Penn Medicine Park hosted an exhibition match between the Harrisburg City Islanders and Crystal Palace F.C., a Premier League team based in London, England.{{cite web | title=Clipper Magazine Stadium to host world-class soccer| work=Lancaster Barnstormers| url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=468| accessdate=June 10, 2009}} The ballpark's infield was covered with grass sod per FIFA regulations. Additionally, local soccer clubs scheduled training sessions to maximize the use of the temporary soccer pitch.

In August 2015, the venue hosted two more professional soccer matches. The first one featured the Harrisburg City Islanders versus FC Montreal, both members of the United Soccer League. The second game included the Philadelphia Union, a Major League Soccer club, versus Harrisburg.{{cite web | title=Lancaster soccer fans wild over Philadelphia Union's win over City Islanders| work=Lancaster Online| date=31 August 2015| url=http://lancasteronline.com/sports/soccer/philadelphiaunion/lancaster-soccer-fans-wild-over-philadelphia-union-s-win-over/article_76d7d2e8-5050-11e5-b062-5397d7b62bf1.html| accessdate=September 1, 2015}} For the 2016 USL season, the City Islanders played five of their home games at Penn Medicine Park. The other ten were played at their regular home, FNB Field on Harrisburg's City Island.

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• [https://www.lancasterstormers.com/stadium/ Penn Medicine Park]

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Category:Baseball venues in Pennsylvania

Category:Lancaster Barnstormers

Category:Buildings and structures in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Category:Sports in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Category:Atlantic League of Professional Baseball ballparks

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Category:Soccer venues in Pennsylvania

Category:2005 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:Sports venues completed in 2005