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FirstEnergy Stadium |
| Reading, PA |
“The way we look at it, we’ve had three generations of families come to our games, and we aim to cater to all three” said Andy Kauffman of the Reading Phillies Communications Department. “For the old timers, they can reminisce about seeing players like Greg Luzinski, Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa play here. The fans in the middle love to watch the prospects play, because they know they’ll be Philadelphia Phillies one day. The youngsters really enjoy our mascot and all of the wacky promotions we do.”
FirstEnergy Stadium, also known locally as Baseballtown, is the home of the Reading Phillies.
It’s a formula that works to perfection, as is obvious from the fact that Reading led the Eastern League in attendance in 2005, despite having a population of only 80,727. In fact, Reading has attracted over nine million fans to its home games over the years. No other EL franchise has reached six million.
One of the signature features of this ballpark are the pools in the outfield (See photo, above)
How Do You Fan?
The Phillies have a new marketing slogan for 2006: “How do you fan?” Kauffman explains that, “we found that everyone has a different reason for coming to our games, and we are determined to make our games the best possible experience for all of our fans.”
Those fans will find new attractions in the Funland, such as a two-stories-tall inflatable slide and a new speed-pitch game, and a new food stand featuring a carving station Fans will also be able to watch new LCD screens while waiting in line in the extensive food court.
Experts Take
“Of all of the parks we’ve named Ballpark of the Year on our website, Reading is probably the best,” said Eric Pastore of digitalballparks.com. “I love how Reading avoided joining the new-ballpark craze, and instead kept something of historic significance. It has all of the bells and whistles of a modern park, but with a great sense of history. It proves that sometimes it’s better to modernize an old ballpark rather than to build a new one.”
