Bicentennial Park (Allentown)

Bicentennial Park is a stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park, originally named after the bicentennial year in which it was renovated, was officially renamed Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park after his death in 1987 by Mayor Joseph S. Daddona, and is primarily used for baseball and softball.^[1][2] It has subsequently been renamed to ECTB Stadium at Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park in 2005. ECTB is an acronym for the Elite Championship Tournament Baseball for youth tournament play organization.^[3] The stadium and land around it are owned by the City of Allentown and currently leased to the ECTB as of 2005. The ECTB sub-lets the stadium to numerous community organizations which host events there throughout the year and sells concessions, generating income which it uses to maintain the facility.

The ballpark opened in 1939 as Fairview Field, home to the Allentown Dukes, a Boston Braves Minor League farm team. The Dukes were a founding member of the new Interstate League and won both the all-season title and defeated the Sunbury Senators in the championship game.^[4] Notable MLB (Major League Baseball) players who were on this team include, Joe Antolick, George Hennessey and Tony Parisse.^[5] The next year, the Dukes were replaced by the Allentown Fleetwings, which were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. The following year the team as taken over by the Philadelphia Phillies and renamed the Allentown Wings, but reverted to the Cardinals again in 1942. The team was renamed the Allentown Cardinals in 1944 and played their final season there in 1947. The team finished as runner-up to the championship in 1944,1945 and 1947. The team moved to Breadon Field, a new ballpark just north of the city in Whitehall Township, on August 6, 1948 after playing on the road until then due to construction delays.^[6][7] A notable former MLB player who managed there under Cardinals ownership was Val Picinich. In addition, this was home field for a total of 30 MLB players. The most notable of these include, Steve Bilko, Ed Blake, Johnny Bucha, Dick Cole (baseball), Slim Emmerich, Johnny Klippstein, Al Papai, Freddy Schmidt and Bobby Young.^[8] Famous players who would have stepped on the field as visitors include: Les Bell, Al Campanis, Billy Cox (baseball), Del Ennis, Nellie Fox, Carl Furillo, Goose Goslin, Bobby Hofman, George Kell, Billy Rogell, and Curt Simmons.^[9]

Fairview Field was renovated in the mid-1970s and re-opened as Bicentennial Park in 1976 for use as a softball field. This extensive renovation effort was led by Earl F. Hunsicker who raised an estimated 1.4 million dollars over 11 years with the aid of Mayor Daddona and the Allentown Recreation Commission.^[10] The ballpark, which seats 4,600, hosted the Allentown Ambassadors professional baseball team of the Northeast League from 1997 to 2003. Dwindling attendance blamed on increasingly poor on-field performance led to owner Peter Karoly to fold the team shortly before the 2004 season, which travelled for a year as Northeast League Aces before becoming the Worcester Tornadoes. 21 MLB players played for or managed the Ambassadors, of note were: Ed Ott, Luis Andujar, Kim Batiste, Scott Bullett, Brian Drahman, Angelo Encarnacion, Mike Figga, Jason McDonald, Darryl Motley, and Brad Pennington. From 2006 until 2009 it was the home of the Philadelphia Force of National Pro Fastpitch. The Philadelphia Force folded in 2009 only a year after losing to the Chicago Bandits in the 2008 Championship semi-finals. 2008 saw the opening just across town of Coca-Cola Park (Allentown), a stadium with a seating capacity of 8100, hosting the Philadelphia Phillies AAA-level team the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Any realistic chance of drawing a minor league audience or team to ECTB stadium ended when this venue was established.

In 2009 a controversy emerged over the land the stadium sits upon. LANTA (Lehigh And Northampton Transportation Authority) who at the time owned .2 acres of the property extending from the left field parking lot to the left field base line, announced plans to build a new garage using federal stimulus money and later expand the site and buy the remaining property the stadium sits on from the city of Allentown.^[11] The plan, which would result in the demolition of the stadium, ran into opposition from the family of Earl F. Hunsicker and then ECTB owner Terry Schadler who tied up the proposal in the Allentown City Council. After a 4-year lease renewal was awarded by City Council to new ECTB owner Dylan Dando in 2016, the matter was resolved in 2017.^[12][13] The property in question was returned from LANTA to the City of Allentown in exchange for existing adjacent land which had been vacant and used for stadium parking which LANTA intends to use for expansion of their existing facility near the stadium. The 13 million dollar expansion to the facility will add space vertically and allow for a compressed natural gas filling station on their property. This deal allows the stadium to remain open, however the Hunsicker family expressed reservations based on the potential for disruption of parking at the site for events there.

The stadium has been the home of Allentown Railers of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) since 2012. The Railers won the ACBL championship in 2015 and 2016.^[14]

See also

• History of baseball in Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Sports in Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Historical and Notable Sites in Allentown, Pennsylvania
• List of city parks and recreation facilities of Allentown, Pennsylvania

References