Bicentennial Park (Allentown) facts for kids

Bicentennial Park is a cool place in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where you can watch baseball and softball games. It's a stadium that has been around for a long time!

The park was first named Bicentennial Park because it was fixed up in 1976. That year was the 200th birthday (bicentennial) of the United States. Later, in 1987, it was renamed Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park to honor Earl F. Hunsicker, who helped a lot with its renovation.

In 2005, the name changed again to ECTB Stadium at Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park. ECTB stands for Elite Championship Tournament Baseball, which is a group for young baseball players. The city of Allentown owns the stadium. It's currently used by ECTB and other local groups for different events all year. About 4,600 people can sit in the stadium to watch games.

How the Park Started

The stadium first opened in 1939. Back then, it was called Fairview Field. It was the home field for the Allentown Dukes. This team was a "farm team" for the Boston Braves. A farm team helps train players for bigger baseball leagues.

The Dukes were part of the Interstate League. In their first year, 1939, they won the league championship! Some players who later played in Major League Baseball (MLB) played for the Dukes that year. These included Joe Antolick, George Hennessey, and Tony Parisse.

After the Dukes, other teams played there.

• In 1940, the Allentown Fleetwings, linked with the St. Louis Cardinals, took over.
• In 1941, the team became the Allentown Wings, connected to the Philadelphia Phillies.
• From 1944 to 1947, they were the Allentown Cardinals again.

The team moved to a new stadium in 1948. This new place was called Breadon Field.

Bicentennial Park's New Life

Fairview Field got a big makeover in the mid-1970s. It reopened in 1976 as Bicentennial Park. It was now used mainly for softball games. Earl F. Hunsicker led the effort to fix up the park. He helped raise a lot of money, about $1.4 million, over 11 years. The mayor and the city's recreation group also helped a lot.

The Allentown Ambassadors

After 1960, Allentown didn't have a professional baseball team for a long time. But in 1997, the Allentown Ambassadors arrived! They were part of the independent Northeast League.

However, fewer and fewer fans came to their games. The team also didn't play as well. Because of this, the team's owner decided to close the team down before the 2004 season. The team became a "travel team" for a year. This meant they played all their games away from home. Later, they became the Worcester Tornadoes.

Many talented players played for the Ambassadors. Over six seasons, twenty-one players who later played or managed in MLB were part of the team. Some of these players included Ed Ott, Luis Andujar, and Kim Batiste.

Softball and New Teams

From 2006 to 2009, Bicentennial Park was set up for softball again. It hosted the Philadelphia Force team. They were part of the National Pro Fastpitch league. Even though Allentown is about an hour and a half from Philadelphia, the team played there.

In 2008, a brand new stadium opened across town. It was called Coca-Cola Park. This became the home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The IronPigs are a "Triple A affiliate" team for the Philadelphia Phillies. This means they are a top-level minor league team for the Phillies.

With the new stadium, it was clear Bicentennial Park wouldn't host professional baseball again. Instead, the Allentown Railers started playing there in 2012. They are part of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. The Railers have been very successful! They won league championships in 2015 and 2016.

Keeping the Stadium Open

Around 2009, there was a disagreement about the land where the stadium sits. LANTA, the local transportation group, owned a small part of the land. They wanted to build a new garage there. Their plan would have meant tearing down the stadium.

Many people didn't like this idea. The family of Earl Hunsicker and the owner of ECTB, Terry Schadler, spoke out against it. They worked with the Allentown City Council to stop the plan.

In 2016, a new lease was given to the ECTB owner, Dylan Dando. The issue was finally fixed in 2017. LANTA gave the land back to the City of Allentown. In return, LANTA got some empty land nearby that was used for stadium parking. This allowed LANTA to expand their facility.

This deal means that Bicentennial Park can stay open! It's great news for all the teams and fans who love the stadium.