The Mini-Vet

The park is designed to be a miniature version of Veterans Stadium. This and the next photo are from Jul-2000.

Even the seating configuration resembles the park in Philadelphia.

Beyond the outfield is a mountain; in the outfield is grass that replaced artificial turf in 2007. This photo is from Apr-2011.

• Location: Montage Mountain Road (between I-81 exit 182 and PA 502), Moosic, Pa.
• Opened: 1989 as Lackawanna Co. Stadium
• Additional names: PNC Field (2007)
• Home team: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (1989-2006), Yankees (2007-present), International League
• Capacity: 10,982

Chronological Tour: Stop 52

Rating: 2 baseballs

The original team’s name was an amalgam of the old Wilkes-Barre Barons and Scranton Red Sox, active teams in the 1940s. In 1997, the club logo was modified to emphasize the aviation aspect of the nickname “Red Barons”. The team cap, with an interlocking “SWB”, has become a classic.

The park was built, in part, to mimic Veterans Stadium, the home of the Red Barons’ parent Philadelphia Phillies from 1971 to 2003. The biggest problem with a park that otherwise worked well was the artificial turf – a function of the Vet having had it as well as the county’s overuse of the field. The facility sees action for high school and college football as well.

In 2007, as part of a series of affiliation changes occasioned by the 2008 transfer of the Ottawa Lynx franchise to Allentown, Pa., Scranton became a New York Yankees farm club. The Yankees promptly substituted their name for “Red Barons”, and they also renovated the park, installing new grass for their Bronx-bound players.

The park is set to close for major renovations during the 2012 season, with the Yankees utilizing an alternate facility prior to a 2013 return.