Need a Towel ?

When it was first announced earlier this year that a NY Penn League team would be moving to State College, most people (including myself) assumed that the team moving would be one of the western New York franchises, most likely Jamestown. But rumors have been swirling the past couple months that the team headed for State College is the New Jersey Cardinals. While on paper this would seem surprising, the reason is apparently because of an unfavorable (expensive) lease. And during my most recent visit to Skylands Park this past weekend, it is easy to see that the team is desperate to increase revenues. Box seats are a whopping $12. Parking is $4. Programs are $4. Concessions are expensive, portions are rather small, and quality is subpar. But the biggest indicator to me was the unusual appearance of attendants in the bathrooms. After visiting over 200 parks, this is something I'’ve never seen before. The attendant was there to hand out paper towels, but his purpose seemed more to collect tips as he had a jar with a prominent sign that read "Tips are greatly appreciated"”. Just ridiculous.

While it would be a shame if Augusta lost their NY Penn League team, I'm sure that one of the independent leagues (probably the Can-Am League) would scoop up this ballpark in a heartbeat. Being only 12 years old, Skylands Park is simply too nice to sit idle.