Reading To Take Proposals To Run Egelman Park; Current Operator Objects

Egelman Park is one of the city’s most valuable parks, so it’s time to end the current lease and take proposals from new groups to run it this summer, City Council and Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer’s administration agreed Monday.

That didn’t sit well with Randy Gaston, who has a 25-year lease that runs through 2018.

He and his East Reading Athletic Association have run the Egelman concessions and baseball fields for 20 years.

Contacted after the meeting, Gaston said he can’t run the youth baseball program if he doesn’t have a field.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=452211

Fans Get Look At New RailRiders PNC Field Ballpark Stadium

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Joe Mielo has been attending ballgames at the minor league baseball stadium in Lackawanna County since it opened in 1989.

PNC Field, home to the new Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, closed last year for a $43 million rebuilding and will have its much-anticipated season opener April 4.  Mr. Mielo, who will be in his usual spot behind home plate, in Section 22, Row 5, Seat 7, was one of many fans who braved frigid temperatures Saturday to get a first glimpse of the stadium’s overhaul and new look during an open house.

“Oh, it’s going to be nice,” the 77-year-old West Scranton man said of the revamped ballpark.

Gone is the steep, hulking upper deck that had a roof line as high up as the stadium’s lighting towers.  The main gate is now a spacious, open-air corridor into the ballpark. Other new features include a wraparound concourse, a bar, bleachers and lawn seating and a kids’ area.

Read more:  http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/fans-get-look-at-new-railriders-pnc-field-ballpark-stadium-1.1435534