 Entrance to Veterans Memorial Park, Sep-2008. |
 The main seating bowl, as seen from the edge of the first-base grandstand. |
 The field, as seen through the backstop behind home plate. |
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Entrance to Veterans Memorial Park, Sep-2008. |
The main seating bowl, as seen from the edge of the first-base grandstand. |
The field, as seen through the backstop behind home plate. |
In the mid-1990s, it became apparent that the region, about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, was a viable market for professional baseball. The minors initially passed on Altoona, focusing on Johnstown and its existing stadium instead, but the Eastern League eventually did arrive, moving into a new ballpark less than two miles from here, on the other side of the highway bypass.
Meanwhile, Vets Field, as it is commonly known, did see two seasons of independent league use, first in the North Atlantic League, which folded after the 1996 season, and then in the Heartland League. In tribute to the locomotive manufacture industry once located here, the clubs were called the Rail Kings. And over at the new park, as of 2008, the club seats down the left-field line are known as Rail King seats.
Vets Field continues to see use by schools and amateur tournaments.