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The Essentials
So what is it like to be a fan attending a game at new Coca-Cola Park? Let’s walk through the game-day experience — including a food item that’s worth traveling to Allentown to eat!
For those driving to the game, which I’m sure is almost everyone, you’ll undoubtedly encounter backed-up traffic once you turn off of American Parkway and head to the main lots. A space in those lots costs $3, which is reasonable compared to other Triple-A facilities. The ticket prices are also in line, as field level seats (not in the Dugout Suite area) are $9, and the Club seats on the upper level are $14. The latter, of course, also gives you access to the lovely lounge area. Reserved seats near the right-field foul pole are $7.50 and general admission costs $6.
The aforementioned Pork Illustrated programs are free, and team merchandise in the well-appointed store (below left) carries reasonable price tags. For instance, just about every adult T-shirt costs $18, as do the caps.
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Like at most newer parks, there is a good variety of items at the concession stands, all with prices that are reasonable for this level of baseball. You’ll find regular hot dogs for only $2, cheeseburgers for $4, nachos for $3.75 and 24-ounce sodas for $3.25. Draft beers, meanwhile, are $5.
There is one food item that deserves special recognition, though. In fact, if I presented an award for Best New Concession Item at a Ballpark, this would be the winner. On the concourse behind first base is a portable stand called Pork ‘N Chips that sells BBQ items, including the delicious Nacho Porker (above right), which sells for $6.50. Sitting atop chips and nacho cheese is a mouth-watering heap of pork BBQ, made with the same delectable sauce as at Allentown’s famed Conway’s BBQ restaurant. Messy, yes. But a taste treat without compare.
The scoreboard in left-center field is a beauty, with a 50-foot by 20-foot high-res video screen on top of the standard game info. Making the board unique is its top, which features (appropriately enough) a large Coke bottle. Whenever the IronPigs score a run, its cap raises up and small fireworks are fired into the sky (below right).
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Kids will find a lot to like at Coca-Cola Park, as there is a large “Kidszone” down the third-base line (below left) with inflatables and games. There’s even a spot near that kids area where youngsters can cool off by being sprayed with water (below center). The mascots, FeRROUS and FeFe, are a hit with the younger set, too.
The front office does a good job keeping things lively between innings, but perhaps the most noteworthy bit of entertainment comes from (of all places) the grounds crew. Because of the dance steps they perform while dragging the infield (below right), they’ve been dubbed The Dancing Dirt Dudes.
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Summary
Coca-Cola Park is certainly a great place to watch a game, with its reasonable prices, up-to-date design and multitude of amenities. Without a doubt, the team, local governments and architects did a solid job bringing the fans in the Lehigh Valley a showplace ballpark.
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But how does it stack up against the other parks at the Triple-A level? Pretty well. If you compare it to top couple of parks at this level — Louisville, Oklahoma City and Indianapolis — it’s not quite as special or awe-inspiring as they are, nor is the location, and consequently the view, nearly as nice. Lehigh Valley’s park itself is as nice as the next level of Triple-A facilities — Albuquerque and Toledo — but again, the location isn’t as exciting.
But compared to all of the other ballparks at the Minors’ top level, Coca-Cola Park beats them all … which puts Lehigh Valley’s new pigpen in the top quarter of all Triple-A stadiums. Surely this should make the IronPigs’ fans as happy as, well, a pig in slop!