A Stadium in the Middle of the Susquehanna

Right-field entrance to the renovated Metro Bank Park, Aug-2010.

The main seating bowl, as seen from center field on the new wrap-around concourse.

Greenery still obscures any view of the Susquehanna River from the stands.

• Location: City Island, Harrisburg, Pa.
• Opened: 1987 as RiverSide Stadium (renovated: 2010)
• Additional names: Commerce Bank Park (2003), Metro Bank Park (2009)
• Home team: Harrisburg Senators, Eastern League (1987-present)
• Capacity: 6,200

Chronological Tour: Stop 51

Rating: 3 baseballs

The interior structure of the park is nothing to write home about, with a lot of aluminum as well as beams holding up the roof. On the other hand, the roof is a godsend on hot summer days, when they play 1:00 games.

With the stadium in the middle of the Susquehanna, it has been imperiled by the rushing waters on occasion. During a flood in January 1996, ice floes from upstream knocked out half of the Walnut Street bridge that crosses the island; the section is no longer used. The stadium suffered flood damage as well, but opened in time for the season. The island and stadium also flooded in September 2004, as the remnants of Hurricane Ivan dumped too much rain in the valley for the river to handle. And the ballpark lost the fight against Mother Nature again in September 2011, as the Senators had to play an entire playoff series in Richmond, Va., following the double whammy of Hurricane Irene and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

There had been talk of bringing Triple-A baseball to City Island, as the Ottawa Lynx, a Baltimore Orioles farm club, were fixing to move, forcing the Eastern League team to relocate to another Pennsylvania location. As it turned out, though, the Lynx were purchased by an owner who moved them to Allentown, 80 miles to the east-northeast along Route 22.

During 2009, the Senators embarked on a major renovation of the park; it was complete for the 2010 season and the photos you see above are after that renovation.

Another stadium located on a City Island is Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Fla.