January 27, 2018
New Holland Arena (Capacity: 7,318)
Harrisburg, PA
Harrisburg Heat vs Florida Tropics
Final Score: 4 – 5
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190 visits into this lifelong journey and a few sports still remain unseen. On this visit, I made my first trip to see indoor soccer at an MASL match. Though the league is 10 years old, indoor soccer has a longer history in this country, dating back to the MISL and NPSL days in the 80s and 90s. Harrisburg is part of that history as the first incarnation of the Heat was active from 1991-2003. In 2012, an expansion team returned to the city and they remain in place today. The Heat have never won an indoor soccer championship and just made the playoffs last year, the first time that has happened in their second stint as a franchise. More unique is their home, the Large Arena within the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. A recent naming rights deal gave the building the more formal name of “New Holland Arena”. This huge complex hosts an annual agricultural exhibition that is over 100 years old and one of the biggest in the U.S. Their Schedule of Events really shows the impressive size and depth of all things agriculture that is offered (plus it’s free). The large arena opened in 1939 to accommodate some of the festivities and while it is Farm Show at heart, the versatility of the building has allowed it to host sports, including the Heat.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
Pennsylvania’s capital city is appropriately located in the middle of the state and despite the small population (49,000), Harrisburg has a large downtown more reminiscent of a mid-sized city. Part of that make-up is the governmental section that includes the capitol building and state museum, which I visited before the game. Harrisburg sits along the wide Susquehanna River and closer to the River are some of the better spots to check out like: Front Street, 2nd Street, the Walnut Street Bridge and City Island. It is an architecturally interesting city, however the significant lack of activity on an evening or weekend in some areas can seem eerie and off-putting to a visitor. Some of the city’s less glamorous areas are found near and east of the railroad tracks, which is where the Farm Show Complex is located. Only a few fast food places exist nearby, so the best spot for a meal is five minutes down Cameron Street at Appalachian Brewing Company.
Location Ranking: 5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Quickly accessible from very close-by I-81 or a bit further I-83, the immediate vicinity is a more open, but somewhat industrialized part of town. Large parking lots accommodate arena-goers and the wide access roads require several lanes for bigger events, meaning that it fits those seeing the Heat nicely for a quick getaway. If an event runs concurrent to the game, well-marked signs direct fans.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 8 out of 8
Exterior
The multi-colored dark brick that makes up both the complex and arena isn’t the most visually appealing, however there are other aspects to the Large Arena that require a closer look. Intricate, engraved murals near the top provide a historical glimpse of agriculture when the building opened in the 1930s. Closer to the entrance door are somewhat comical, but no less impressive, engravings of farm animals. It certainly is a large building and one that looks typical to the others built in that era (with the triangular roof being the most classic feature). Doors are red and while New Holland Arena is a better name than the six word alternative previously used, their blue/yellow signage does not fit the building well.
Exterior Ranking: 5.5 out of 10
Concourse
My first reaction upon stepping inside was “Yup, there is a farm show held here”. A distinctive farm/manure smell accompanies guests and it is a not-so-subtle reminder of the building’s true purpose. Various corridors and lobbies connect the rest of the complex to the large arena. I did not get to walk through them, since they were blocked off by security (an auto show was ongoing), I did peek at them through windows and they are nicer and more refined than the concourses in the arena. After passing through a small initial atrium, fans can use the enclosed circular concourse that is framed by the steeply rising seating bowl on the inside. Walls are white and blue, though there were two completely random trees painted on the walls near the concession area. The concourse definitely had an empty vibe to it. On the plus side, there is more than enough room given the size of the crowd and everything was very well marked. Even on the inside, section numbers gave the location of restrooms or food/drink.
Concourse Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Food
Three stands served concessions and they could best be described as everything you expect to be offered at a sporting event. Lone standouts include Cheesesteaks and a variety of Rita’s Italian Ice. Lengthy lines accompanied each stand at halftime and I heard a worker shout to those in line that they were out of a few items.
Food Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Interior
The inside of the arena reminded me of another place not that far away and built around a similar time: Hersheypark Arena. Set-up in an oval shape, the seating bowl is all about the fan watching the event below (which I love). There is a very steep pitch to each row and that provides a great sightline, even if the indoor soccer field has plenty of open space between floor and stands. What comes with the territory though are fold-down, wooden-like seats that are somewhat uncomfortable. Purple, Red, Orange and Tan colored seats create a sectional look and these colors make me think that the seating dates back to the 70s or 80s. It looks like the seating should stop at a walkway that circles the top of the arena, however, an upper section is crammed under the roof in some spots. Lighting is intriguing too as three giant “Operating Table” fixtures are over the playing field, while a bank of lights are located on the side. It is a quirky building unlike any other in the MASL and I have a soft spot for any place with history and uniqueness.
Interior Ranking: 8 out of 14
Scoreboard
An off-center, dot-matrix scoreboard with four sides is as basic as they come (their clock does not even have tenths of a second). Ad panels surround the scoring portion of this small board. A tiny graphics display in the middle is essentially broken and the only reason I knew it existed was the one functioning side had a discombobulated assortment of lightbulbs flickering. I also felt bad for the players at the end of each quarter as they had to take a precious second to look way up to find the time left as there was no display behind either goal. There was a pretty cool, nostalgic scoreboard in the upper corner that I did not notice until late in the game. This decades-old board even included an analog game-clock.
Scoreboard Ranking: 0.5 out of 4
Displays
I believe most of the Farm Show displays are in the halls of other portions of the complex, which is disappointing as there is so much empty space in the concourse. There is a small tribute to six people who helped advance agriculture in PA that is located above the ticket window near the entrance. The lone display for the Heat is in the form of a banner above the players tunnel. This is the team’s Hall of Fame with 11 people listed.
Displays Ranking: 1 out of 6
Cost
There is an interesting FAQ section on the Heat website answering “Why is there a parking fee”. Well, the blame goes to the folks that run the Farm Show Complex as they charge a hefty $10 fee for their parking lot. People could/should understandably gripe about the price, though my thought is that considering the Farm Show is free, this parking charge goes to helping partially fund that event. As for tickets, prices range from $14 behind the goal to $22 at the center. There are no ushers in the building, so people did not have a problem getting the cheapest seat and moving to any empty middle row. The average price is on-par with other division teams (note that Baltimore includes parking in their ticket cost). Concession prices feature a $6.50 cheeseburger, $3.50 hot dog and $3.50 bottled water. I did get my requisite program here and the $3 charge felt like a ripoff for a glorified roster sheet with only ads featured on the other pages.
Cost Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Fan Support
The days of filling 3/4ths of the Farm Show Arena back in the 1990s are long gone as my really rough guess for this game’s attendance was 1,000 to 1,500. It’s unfortunate as the owner seems to be doing all the right things according to die-hard fans, yet still the attendance has been trending down according to numbers released by the league. Despite this trend, based on reviewing streamed games in other league arenas, the team’s crowd size is not that far away from the others in MASL.
Fan Support Ranking: 3.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
Music is played nearly non-stop during the game, so it is hard to gauge the ebb and flow of the crowd. While the constant music and PA shouts of “Harrisburg make some noooiiissseee” was annoying, it did cater very well to the large number of kids in the crowd. Either with their families or with their youth jersey on, kids were the focal point and the Heat know their audience, which is a good thing. Post-game autograph sessions and bringing them onto the field help make fans of that age group. The crowd did seem engaged overall and they clapped at the urging of the announcer. They also gasped at close calls during the game and goal celebrations were met with cheers as they enjoyed The Hey Song and various pyrotechnics.
Atmosphere Ranking: 8 out of 14
Other Stuff
During the first couple years of Heat 2.0, the team played at the smaller Equine Arena within the complex (1,600 seats). The team moved to the Large Arena in 2014, which is where all of their early years were played…..The first building in the Farm Show Complex opened in 1931 and the Large Arena debuted in 1939…..Several other events and shows take place in the Complex throughout the year, including the Great American Outdoor Show, which brings in ~200,000 visitors.
Game
After Florida went to halftime with a 3-1 lead, Harrisburg trimmed the deficit to one just a few minutes into the third quarter. The Tropics quickly answered with two goals, including a back-heel beauty by Ricardo De Queiroz Diegues to make it 5-2, despite Harrisburg controlling much of the possession. The Heat gradually got back into the game and they were down 5-4, setting up a frantic finish. Twice, the Heat had Power Plays in the final five minutes (including a 6 on 4 late), but they could not capitalize as Florida exhaustingly celebrated their victory at the final whistle. Elmo Neto led the Heat with 2 goals and an assist.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
