May 26, 2012
Sovereign Bank Stadium (Capacity: 5,212)
York, PA
York Revolution vs Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Final Score: 1 – 2
* The arena was renamed to WellSpan Park
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On a very warm Memorial Day weekend, we took a trip down to Pennsylvania Dutch Country to see a couple of Atlantic League ballparks. The first stop was York County, the factory tour capital of the country (though apparently not on weekends). The county seat of York is in the middle of this county in South-Central PA and the old city of 43,000 has a lot of history dating back to colonial times when it was the brief capital of the United States. After many decades of seeing the White Roses baseball team play at the single A level, York went 38 years without pro baseball. Then in 2007, a ballpark was built for a new franchise in the independent Atlantic League called the York Revolution. The team went on to win back-to-back league championships in 2010 and 2011. Sovereign Bank Stadium is a beautiful ballpark, quickly becoming a favorite with nearly everything done right, though I was disappointed to see a few days later that it was copied and the designers built a stadium that is almost identical to the one they built two years earlier in nearby Lancaster.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Location
The ballpark is in the northern part of downtown, beautifully situated in a tight space between the Codorus Creek and a train station. While driving through the outskirts of the city is shady and very rundown, the downtown area is fine and features many well-preserved historic brick buildings that have stood the test of time. The ballpark is within walking distance to a few bars and restaurants, along with the York Central Market, a terrific farmers market with delicious, cheap local products (if you catch it on an open day or time). A little deeper into the city are the York Heritage Trust sites, a grouping of historical sites and museums.
Location Ranking: 7.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
York is fairly easy to get to with I-83 running North-South through town. Those coming from the East or West can use the PA Turnpike and then hop on 83 for 20 minutes. Even flying in is close with Harrisburg’s airport a half hour away. Parking lots and garages are scattered around the area, but the Revolution website does a good job of laying it all out. The most popular spot is past the ballpark on the right in a school parking lot that has a lot of spaces. The only problem here is that there was no police directing traffic after the game, so it took awhile to exit and was impossible to make a left.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Exterior
For fans arriving from the southern end, the Brooks Robinson Plaza greets visitors with an arched sign, benches and a partially bricked walkway. It’s a nice honor and the ode is because he played in York for one season during the 1950s. The curved ballpark shape features an indent in the middle, where the main entrance is. In this area is the ballpark name on the building, along with some team logos and a “House of Champions” sign. The red and light brown brick design fits in perfectly with the many nearby city buildings I saw earlier in the day. Though it’s a great design, I was disappointed to see it’s nearly the same exact set-up in Lancaster, a ballpark built two years earlier.
Exterior Ranking: 8 out of 10
Concourse
The brick outlined open concourse is spacious and features overhanging berms colored in green. Bathrooms are plentiful and the only spot without a view of the field is behind home plate (which is a little annoying). As the concourse ends and opens up completely to the outside, walkways bring fans all the way around the ballpark.
Concourse Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Food
There are many great food options at Sovereign Bank Stadium including things I’ve never seen sold at a ballpark, like Applesauce, Animal Crackers and Sausage Burgers. Other goods mixed into the menu included the Walking Taco (similar to a taco salad), deep fried Oreos, beer battered fish and deli sandwiches. Regionally-produced Turkey Hill was the ice cream provider. I was thrilled to see a stand devoted to just Pretzels, a Dutch Country and York area specialty. Many soft pretzel variations were offered. Several beers were on tap, including Pennsylvania made Yuengling. Microbrews are sold in the “Hop Corner” with some local products amongst the selections.
Food Ranking: 7 out of 8
Interior
Intimate may be the best way to describe the inside as everything was clean, closed in and near the field. The one-level seating bowl features green chairs that are comfortable and have cupholders. Sections go about halfway into the outfield and the sections aren’t all that huge as the bowl holds 4,312. Problem is the angle each row goes up is shallow as heads can get in the way. The final sections at the end of the bowl start wrapping around so that they face home plate. Nice thought, but it comes with one downfall as adjacent sections are blocked from seeing one corner. It would have been better if the seats turned inward, not the actual section. Sitting above the concourse and hanging slightly over the seats are the skyboxes and a private group box. Meanwhile, the press box is behind the seating bowl and underneath the suite level. Heading towards the outfield, a couple of picnic areas are on the right side as the yellow-pointed, Turkey Hill-sponsored, tents seem out of place with the ballpark’s theme. Lawn seating in center comes with a row of bleachers right in front of the wall, a nice touch. A huge children’s play area then follows, complete with a carousel. The ballpark’s “signature” is in left-field as the green, 37-foot “Arch Nemesis” acts and plays just like Boston’s Green Monster. I just am not a fan of rip-offs (when the team has no association with Boston), however I see why they had to build a wall like that, given the proximity of Arch Street beyond the left field wall. The outfield is littered with annoying elevated advertisements, though it does block the view of a nearby eyesore neighborhood. It is important once again to note that this ballpark was built two years after the one in Lancaster (30 minutes away) and is a direct ripoff of their rivals. I thus deducted a ranking point for being a direct copy.
Interior Ranking: 7.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The fake Green Monster in left is full of ads alongside a manual box scoreboard. It is cool how you can walk behind the scoreboard and watch the operator put in the numbers. The video board in right is outlined in brick and has the stadium name at the top. Video is decent and it was nice to see replays of big plays posted. The board somewhat gets lost amongst a sea of ads.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4
Displays
Outside of the ballpark is where York shows off best. I recommend taking a walk around the stadium as there are ten informative markers displaying “the History of Rail” as it pertains to York. Given the ballpark being next to the train station, this is a really neat touch. Also in the Brooks Robinson Plaza is a well done full size statue of the man while playing for York as he signs an autograph to two eager kids. What’s nice here is that the player is wearing the old White Roses hat and uniform. Sadly, that is where the White Roses tribute ends as I did not see one display throughout the inside of the park, a shame given that so much more could have been done. Two small pennant-like markers for the championship years in 2010 and 2011 are above the outfield ads.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
Tickets are reasonable at $11 and $13, with the lawn seats going for $7. I can deal with the $1.25 handling fee online, but having a $2 fee for picking up at will call is a little ridiculous when most major league teams have free will call pickup. Parking was between $3 – $5, though there seemed to be many spots nearby in the city where free parking was available. Meanwhile, I was surprisingly impressed with some of the concession prices. $2.50 for a medium soda and $5.50 for a draft beer is a great deal! A hot dog was $2 and a cheeseburger was $5.50.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
Support is average as fireworks night filled maybe half the ballpark up (announced was 5,344 and actual I would guess was around 2,500). Atlantic League rankings yearly see York in the middle of the league, however nearby rival Lancaster has come ahead each year in the final numbers. In the clinching game of York’s championship in 2011, the team drew 3,767 on a Sunday Afternoon.
Fan Support Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
Nothing unusual from a typical minor league (or independent) game as the atmosphere is mainly families and there isn’t necessarily full focus on the game. Cheers accompanied good plays, but nothing I saw was better than the norm. The Big Hitters, an all male and mostly overweight dance team kept the crowd entertained with a few numbers between innings. Two of those guys constantly tried to keep the crowd engaged and were a hit with the kids. One cool tradition I loved was the loud cannon that gets fired off in the outfield after each York home run and/or a team win.
Atmosphere Ranking: 8 out of 14
Other Stuff
Slow moving storms luckily fell apart as they approached York and only very light rain fell before the game. Still enough to delay the start by 45 minutes….Good job by the nice ushers who gave the seat a wipe down before you sat…..Back in the days of the White Roses, York had a heated rivalry with Lancaster (the Red Roses). With both teams recently back from a long hiatus, they have rekindled the rivalry with a pretty cool “War of the Roses” series. Each year, the winner gets the Community Cup…..The team used the Revolution nickname to help display York’s colonial past, however the meaning has been shifted as of late to emphasize the industrial revolution….Special thanks to Cindy Burkholder on the visit!.
Game
A pitcher’s duel was the theme here as York’s Chris Cody and Southern Maryland’s Nick Green threw terrific games. There was not a multi-base hit until the 8th and before then a couple defensive gems helped to keep zeros on the board. The best play was Mike Daniel making a terrific dive, scoop and shovel play all in one motion to second base for a force out. In the 8th, a two-run single by the Blue Crabs’ Brian Barton was the decider. York scored one in the bottom half, but was unable to tie it as the last two hitters of the game struck out with a runner on second.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
