Jerry Uht Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jerry Uht Park | |
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| "The Uht" | |
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| Location | 110 East 10th Street Erie, Pennsylvania 16501 |
| Broke ground | 1994-07-27 |
| Opened | 1995 |
| Owner | City of Erie |
| Construction cost | $8.7 million |
| Tenants | Erie SeaWolves (EL) 1995 – present |
| Capacity | 6,000 (Baseball) |
Jerry Uht Park is a baseball stadium located at 110 East 10th Street (between French and Holland) in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. The Uht, which is part of the Erie County Convention Center complex, has served as the home field of the Erie SeaWolves since 1995. A Double A baseball team since 1999, the Seawolves have been affiliated with the Detroit Tigers since 2001.
The Uht, which seats 6,000 persons, also hosts numerous local high school and collegiate baseball games throughout the spring.[1] The stadium is occasionally the venue for local cultural events, such as an Erie Philharmonic production of "Pops in the Park".
The stadium replaced Ainsworth Field, which was built in 1947 and renovated in 1980. Located on 24th Street at Washington Place (behind the Roosevelt School), Ainsworth Field was the home of the Erie Sailors for much of the time between 1948 and 1963, and then again from 1990 to 1994.[2]
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[edit] History of construction
Local businesses and other proponents of a new ballpark formed a group named Team Erie and raised $8.7 million for stadium construction. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on 27 July 1994 and the stadium was completed in May 1995. The first Seawolves game was played at the Uht on 20 June 1995 against the Jamestown Jammers.[1]
[edit] Features of construction
Seating along the first- and third-base lines has a unique configuration at the Uht due to the space constraints of urban construction. There are three main concession stands and a picnic area for fans, plus six luxury suites for special occasions. The Uht is located next to Louis J. Tullio Arena.[1]
The 2006 season saw the erection of a new electronic scoreboard at $1 million. The 2007 season added a 40-foot (12 m) video display to the scoreboard and a two-tiered Picnic Garden along the right-field line with 1,000 additional seats for $3.2 million. Eleven luxury box seats and new concession stands are included in the Picnic Garden addition.[3]
[edit] Stadium benefactor and perpetual fund
Longtime Erie resident and local benefactor Gerard T. "Jerry" Uht, Sr., born 22 September 1929 in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Carl A. and Mary C. Uht,[4][5] and graduate of Gannon University (Class of 1953),[6] established an endowment in 1995 with the Erie Community Foundation (ECF) to perpetually support the new downtown baseball stadium. In response to his generosity, the city named the stadium in his honor.[7] As of January 2007, ECF continues to manage the fund, then valued at $750,000. The Erie Times-News described the fund at the time as designated for stadium maintenance expenses and equipment purchases.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c General Information. Erie SeaWolves. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
- ^ Ainsworth Field, Erie, Pa.. Charlie O'Reilly (2004-09-07). Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
- ^ Jerry Uht Park. Erie SeaWolves. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
- ^ 1930 Federal Census for Pennsylvania, Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
- ^ US Public Records Index, Ancestry.com
- ^ "Gannon Magazine" (PDF) (Summer 2006) 20 (1): pg 9. Gannon University.
- ^ Annual Report 2005, Erie Community Foundation, 2006, <http://www.eriecommunityfoundation.org/assets/annual-inside-05.pdf>
- ^ Flowers, Kevin. "Uht Fund Pitches in Relief for Ballpark Renovation", Erie Times-News, 19 January 2007.
[edit] External links
- Jerry Uht Park Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
- Photographs of Jerry Uht Park - Rochester Area Ballparks
- ESPN's Travel Ten: The Best of the Minor Leagues (Jerry Uht Park is ranked fifth)
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