Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The circus is coming to town.
In the center ring will be Alex Rodriguez, one of the most prominent, and controversial, players in baseball history.
He is scheduled to play in Reading tonight as part of a rehab assignment with the New York Yankees following offseason hip surgery.
His appearance will be quite unusual – and for Reading baseball quite historic.
READING, PA – In a city that has taken to calling itself Baseballtown, the sport is more than a pastime. It’s become something of a lifeline.
The hometown Reading Phillies have come to symbolize endurance and pride for a community that the 2010 U.S. Census ranked No. 1 in the nation in poverty. The Phillies remained long after the railroad screeched to a halt and the city’s “Outlet Capital” moniker faded. They’ve provided a welcome diversion from financial struggles and an 8 percent unemployment rate.
Given the 46-year love affair with the Philadelphia Phillies‘ Double-A farm club, there was an understandable citywide gasp when the team announced it is changing its nickname, logo and jerseys. The move was an unexpected change-up that is testing tradition and the city’s identity and polarizing a fiercely loyal fan base.
Ed Oswald, a retired hairstylist who lives outside the city, is among many who have balked at the idea.
Read more:
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-reading-phillies-name-change-20121115,0,4165520.story
The Reading Phillies want to extend their lease of the city-owned FirstEnergy Stadium by 16 years to allow the refinancing of a loan that paid in part for the stadium’s recent $10 million makeover.
But City Council first wants to ask R-Phils‘ managing partner Craig Stein if the team is willing to pay more than its current lease that brings the city only $22,000 a year.
The current lease and the loan payments expire in 2021.
Michael Vind, the city’s financial consultant from S&Lutions, told council last week that Fulton Bank had been unwilling to extend the loan beyond the lease, but had to keep the annual payments to what the R-Phils could afford: $278,000 a year.
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