Reviewing the New Stadium Part 2

Part 2 is going to cover the issues that were either brought to my attention or I noticed. Again, Senators GM Randy Whitaker was kind enough to answer questions to help clairfiy some of the concerns that have been raised.

Let me start by saying there are very few issues I have with the new stadium and those issues are just me being picky. I’ll counter that by saying that these are just artist renditions of what the stadium is supposed to look like when it’s finished in 2010 and everything is not readily visible in the designs. Plus, as noted in part one, the designs are still in process and there may be changes. Thus my analysis is based solely on talking with fans, looking at the designs and talking with Randy Whitaker.

I’m sure there was a lot of planning behind the scenes anticipating the awarding of state funds to back the project but logistically I think the 4-month time frame to complete everything scheduled in Phase 1 is extremely aggressive. Back in June I had a complete tour of the Reading Phillies facilities, it was mentioned during the tour that the small ‘pool’ located in right field(view Reading seating chart to see area I'm talking about) took all off-season to complete (8 months). The Senators are hoping to have phase 1 which includes the public plaza, a boardwalk surrounding the entire outfield, completely upgraded scoreboard, new outfield seating (left and right fields), new outfield wall with static advertisement panels and start building an 8,600 sq foot Operations building in only 4 months. I’m hoping for the best but being realistic it seems like a difficult task. I asked Randy about the time constraints and how confident he was that everything would be ready for opening day 2009. Whitaker replied “I’m very confident that the video system will be up and operational. They tell me the boardwalk will be ready, but even if it is not, it will only cause a temporary inconvenience by changing the location of the entry gate until the entryway is completed. I’m sure they’ll do their best to make it as functional as possible as soon as possible.”

A concern raised by family, friends and other Senators fans I talked with over the holidays, and brought up on Pennlive.com forum as well as a few e-mails I received is; has construction begun yet? Randy says “the changes to the drainage system in the outfield are almost complete. The rest of the work should begin the end of the month. This is all tied to the bid process and the City. Remember, this is a City of Harrisburg project, not a Senators project. We just get to share the benefits with the fans.”

Autographs of the visiting team might be an issue once phase 2 is complete. The way I see it there might only be one location for getting visiting team autographs before the game and that is the small section of seats located closest to the their dugout (see above image). As of right now, down the 3rd base line, there will be visiting team dugout, a photog well/grounds crew area, dugout suites seating, followed by the visiting teams bull pen. I asked Randy, do you think this set up will limit fans access for autographs of the visiting team before the game? His response was “Under the current design, it certainly looks that way. I can’t really render any suggestions on alternative positions yet, but will look when the design is settled. I believe the locker room entrance will be unchanged making it the best alternative for access to the visitors.

Another issue that came up in conversation with someone is the mayfly problem. Initially my response was ‘I doubt there is a whole lot they could do to stop the mayfly’s’. Randy was quick to reply “Absolutely! That’s one of the best features of the new park. There will be a lot of roofing/screening over a majority of the seats. It won’t keep all the bugs out, but it will certainly help. We can’t get rid of them, but we can try to manage and reduce the numbers in seating areas.”

One thing that is always on the back of peoples minds when building close to water is flooding. In years past flooding was an issue on City Island and in particular, Commerce Bank Park. Randy told me “Flood protection is a major factor in the design I’m told – an expensive factor. You can’t change the route as the water comes up from behind rather than flows across. So the trick is making everything below the 100-year flood plain mobile. That means that anything below 14 feet above field level is on wheels, or is water proof. At least that is what they tell me.” In regards to flooding concerns damaging the new static advertisement panels Whitaker told me it’s “always a consideration when the water gets REAL high – but as long as it doesn’t go above the first tier of banners (8 feet above field level) I think we’ll be fine.”

Finally I asked Randy, what are the changes/additions he is most looking forward to in 2009? Also in 2010 when the renovation is complete? He replied “Video – video – video! The show is going to be greatly upgraded in 2009. In 2010 just having everyone in their own seat with arms will be great.”

I don’t know about you but I am ready for the baseball season to start. When the renovations are complete they might have to open the gates 2-3 hours early so the fans have a chance to take part in all the extra activities and still have time to enjoy the game.

Be sure to share your comments, thoughts or questions.