FirstEnergy Stadium

• Name: FirstEnergy Stadium
• GPS-able Address: 1900 Centre Ave., Reading, PA 19601
• Ballpark Owner: City of Reading
• Architects: Muhlenberg Bros.
• Groundbreaking: 7/26/1947
• Minor League Baseball Tenants: Reading Fightin Phils (AA) 2013-present; Reading Phillies (AA) 1967-2012; Reading Red Sox (AA) 1963-1964; Reading Indians (AA) 1952-1961
• Class/League of MiLB tenants: AA/Eastern League 2022-present; AA/Double-A Northeast 2021; AA/Eastern League 1967-2020; AA/Eastern League 1963-1964; AA/Eastern League 1952-1961
• First Professional Baseball Game: 4/23/1952; stadium debut of Class AA Indians
• Others Playing or Operating Here: None
• Previous Ballpark Names: GPU Stadium 2000-2001; Reading Memorial Municipal Stadium 1950-1999
• LF: 330 CF: 400 RF: 308
• Seats: 7,600
• Stated Capacity: 10,000
• House Baseball/Softball Record Attendance (as currently configured): 9,976, 7/3/2016

FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, PA, is the home of the Reading Fightin Phils, the Philadelphia Phillies' Double-A Eastern League farm team. The league's oldest park (by 36 years!) opened as Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium in 1951.

The venerable yard also hosts the Fightins' annual (U.S. Route) 222 exhibition with their Triple-A Philly farm-mates, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, in alternating years - but that will be missed in at least 2023. MLB, which exerts much more control over the minors since its 2021 Minor League Reorganization, has Double-A and Triple-A opening nearly a week apart this season. This makes a pre-season 222 match-up impossible, and there's no word on whether this is a permanent change.

Promoted as "Baseballtown" and "America's Classic Ballpark", it is reminiscent - or is that "preminiscent"? - of "downtown retro" parks. It's the first U.S. baseball stadium to draw 10 million fans while hosting only Double-A or lower clubs. In its 65th season, it twice topped its one-game gate record.

Facilities standards MLB mandated as part of the reorganization put it at risk, briefly, but team ownership, the city and state quickly worked out one of the first deals to keep baseball in ballparks that were so affected.

The playpen was home to the Reading Indians from 1952 through 1961. In 1963 and 1964, the Reading Red Sox played there, and the Tribe returned for the 1965 season. The farm franchise finally achieved stability and continuity when the nearby Philadelphia Phillies became the parent in 1967. It has remained so ever since, with the only significant changes being when the big Phils bought their farm club in 2008 and when the R-Phils changed nicknames in 2012.

In 1999, the ballpark's original name - Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium - was abandoned when naming rights were sold to energy utility GPU Inc., which dubbed it GPU Stadium. FirstEnergy and GPU merged in 2001, so the park was renamed again the next season.

During the ballpark's short run as GPU Stadium, it scored a rather accidental coup that wouldn't become known as such for some time. A member of the R-Phils advisory board had been suggesting his 10-year-old daughter as a pre-game National Anthem singer, and when the scheduled vocalist didn't show on August 8, 2000, the team turned to her as a pinch-singer. The girl would perform the anthem at many sporting events over the next four years - including a Philadelphia 76ers game the next year - before her father transferred to his firm's Nashville office to position her - Taylor Swift - for a professional singing career.[1][2]

In 2002, FirstEnergy Stadium became the first ballpark to win digitalballparks.com's[3] annual Ballpark of the Year Award.