PeoplesBank Park is a 7,500-seat
baseball park
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...
in
York, Pennsylvania
York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...
. It is the home of the
York Revolution
The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league, independent "partner lea ...
of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
. The park hosted its first regular season baseball game on June 16, 2007, as the Revolution defeated the
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...
, 9–6.
Located on
Codorus Creek
Codorus Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in York County, Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ' ...
, the facility had been in the planning stages since 2003, but local politics and funding temporarily halted the plans. The city of York demolished 20 buildings in the Arch Street neighborhood in June 2006, with construction beginning in September 2006. Due to inclement weather, PeoplesBank Park opened one month later than originally planned. The naming rights were purchased by
Sovereign Bank
Santander Bank, N. A. (), formerly Sovereign Bank, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. It is based in Boston and its principal market is the northeastern United States. It has $57.5 billion in deposits, operates about ...
, a banking institution based in nearby
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
, for $2.7 million over ten years.
The name was changed to "Santander Stadium" in October 2013 following the 2009 takeover of
Sovereign Bank
Santander Bank, N. A. (), formerly Sovereign Bank, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. It is based in Boston and its principal market is the northeastern United States. It has $57.5 billion in deposits, operates about ...
by
Santander Bank
Santander Bank, N. A. (), formerly Sovereign Bank, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. It is based in Boston and its principal market is the northeastern United States. It has $57.5 billion in deposits, operates about ...
. In December 2015, it was announced the park would be known as "PeoplesBank Park" under a new naming rights deal with locally owned PeoplesBank.
PeoplesBank Park was honored as the "Ballpark of the Year" by the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball following the end of its 2008 regular season. The award recognizes the efforts of the Revolution staff and groundskeepers, judging such criteria as field conditions, stadium operations, cleanliness, and atmosphere.
History
The city of York had been trying to pursue the construction of a baseball stadium for ten years. It seemed to be coming together in 2003, until politics and financial pressure prevented the ballpark from being built. Many Yorkers hoped to see a team fielded in the same inaugural season as the neighboring
Lancaster Barnstormers
The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...
, but that opportunity slipped away. The ballpark was originally slated to be located at Small Athletic Field, on York City School District property. The district board vetoed the stadium as they believed that their money could be better used for a more practical renovation plan for Small Athletic Field. Over the span of three years, ballpark planning weathered many inclines and declines until a hard-fought agreement was made to build in the Arch Street neighborhood. Other locations that were considered but never came to fruition were Hoffman Field, the home of the former York White Roses, and the Ohio Blender site.
PeoplesBank Park hosts the New Year's Revolution, the city's New Year's Eve celebration in which a large White Rose is dropped to count down to the New Year. The event's name alludes to a
New Year's resolution
A New Year's resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western World but also found in the Eastern World, in which a person resolves to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behavior, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise im ...
and the Revolution baseball team. The former venue for the White Rose drop was the city square.
The stadium hosted the 2011
Atlantic League All-Star Game on July 14, 2011. The first pitch of the All-Star Game was thrown out by former Dover High School football player and then
Green Bay Packer
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...
John Kuhn
John Allen Kuhn (born September 9, 1982) is a former American football fullback. After playing college football for Shippensburg University, he was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. Kuhn earned a Super Bowl ...
. The Revolution again hosted the Atlantic League All-Star Game at PeoplesBank Park in July 2019.
PeoplesBank Park hosted the 2020 United Wiffleball National Championship.
Ballpark attractions
Brooks Robinson Plaza
PeoplesBank Park features the Brooks Robinson Plaza at the homeplate entrance of the ballpark. The plaza features a statue of
Brooks Robinson, along with information related to his 23-year career in professional baseball. In 1955, Robinson played with York's previous team, the White Roses, and at the end of the season was signed by in the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
. The ballpark itself resembles
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the Baseball park#Retro-classic ballparks, "retro" major league ballparks ...
, in tribute to Brooks Robinson and the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
, the local
Major League favorite. The dimensions are the same as those of the former
Memorial Stadium, the Orioles' previous home.
In addition to the Brooks Robinson Plaza, the official postal address of PeoplesBank Park was changed to 5 Brooks Robinson Way in the fall of 2007. The change was made to honor Robinson's baseball career, which started in the city of York.
The Arch Nemesis
![Arch nemesis 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Arch_nemesis_2007.jpg)
At , the left field wall of PeoplesBank Park is taller than any other fence in professional baseball, including the famous
Green Monster
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters.
Overview
The wall was part ...
at
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...
, home to the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
. The Green Monster measures at high, but the ''Arch Nemesis'' in York stands taller. The first home run over and the first base hit off the wall came in York's second game at the stadium on June 16, 2007.
The height of the left field wall was increased to help compensate for a small stadium site. Architects were challenged to fit a ballpark between Arch Street and a parallel railway line less than away and to provide a minimal amount of onsite parking (200 spaces) in the same plan. The best overall layout for the site placed the left field foul pole close to Arch Street and about from home plate, a condition that is known as a "Short Porch" and represents an easy home run opportunity for professional baseball players. Since moving the foul pole any further from home plate would require expanding the site by disrupting Arch Street (which was not an option), the planners increased the height of the left field fence to make home runs more challenging, given the short foul line. The name alludes to Arch Street and to the wall's ability to act as a primary formidable opponent (or ''
arch nemesis
''Arch Nemesis'' is the third solo studio album by American rapper and record producer Benzino. It was released independently on February 22, 2005 via ZNO Records. Production was handled mostly by Benzino's production team Hangmen 3, as well as ...
'') against home-run attempts.
Four scoreboards
In addition to a modern, animated, full-color electronic scoreboard in right field, PeoplesBank Park features an old-fashioned, manually operated scoreboard at the base of the "Arch Nemesis" in left field. A manual scoreboard is another characteristic shared between York's tall outfield wall and its counterpart in
Boston, Massachusetts. Two additional monochromatic, non-animated electronic scoreboards on the façade of the skybox level, one along the first base line and another along the third base line, display game status.
Other ballpark attractions
![PeoplesBank Park Entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/PeoplesBank_Park_Entrance.jpg)
Additional attractions include the Mezzogiorno Picnic Pavilion, with a capacity for 600 fans, that features a menu with traditional ballpark fare as well as regional favorites. Children at PeoplesBank Park can enjoy the Stauffer's DownTown Playground, an amusement section that features a carousel, a jungle web, playground equipment, and various inflatables. The playground is hosted by the Revolution's mascot,
DownTown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
. The First Capital Credit Union Team Store, the York Revolution's official souvenir and apparel vendor, remains open throughout the year at the home plate entrance of PeoplesBank Park.
PeoplesBank Park has multiple seating options. A lawn seating area provides room for 1,600 fans. Executives can reserve one of five function rooms that overlook the field, with a total capacity of 300. These rooms include the Keystone Room, the Pennsylvania State Room, the Tri-State Room, the Piedmont Room, and White Rose Hall. The name of each room refers to York's geography: Keystone for Pennsylvania's official nickname, "the Keystone State"; the
tri-state area including
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
; the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
plateau region; and York's official nickname, "the White Rose City." The conventional seating at the ballpark includes 5,200 green, chairback seats divided into two levels by an open, 360° concourse.
PeoplesBank Park features a miniature, fully functional cannon that is fired when one of the Revolution batters hits a home run or when the team scores a home victory. The cannon is operated by a mascot named Cannonball Charlie, who wears a costume resembling a period
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
uniform.
Concerts
The first major concert at PeoplesBank Park featured the
blues-rock band,
Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...
, on June 14, 2008. A couple of months later, the
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...
band,
Sevenglory
Sevenglory is an American christian rock band from Indiana. It was formed in 2001, and is signed to 7Spin Music. The band is composed of Gabe Johannes ( drums), Caleb Johannes ( bass), Jeff Smith (lead guitar) and Kurt Felsman (lead vocals).
His ...
, played a post-game concert for the Revolution's Faith & Family Day, a celebration of York's
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
community.
References
External links
*
Ballpark Reviews – PeoplesBank Park
{{South Central PA sports venues
Sports venues in Pennsylvania
Baseball venues in Pennsylvania
Minor league baseball venues
Buildings and structures in York, Pennsylvania
York Revolution
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball ballparks
Tourist attractions in York County, Pennsylvania
Sports in York, Pennsylvania
Sports venues completed in 2007
2007 establishments in Pennsylvania