FIRST CLASS EXPERIENCE

I had the fortune of attending my first Lancaster Barnstormers game on Friday evening with my brother and friend. About three years ago when it became official that my "hometown" was getting a baseball team I was pretty excited about it. Baseball is America's pastime for goodness sake so it's great having it where I grew up.

The 2006 season is the second year for the squad. And after an ultra-successful first season with great attendance, promotions, etc. I had high expectations for my first game. It did not disappoint. The game itself was very entertaining as the Barnstormers won the game 9-8 with a two-out three-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth but I look for "other stuff" around the ballpark.

The on-field game promotions were outstanding. Fairly creative too. The promotions MC was great with the microphone as well. The concession food was great and not to badly priced. The jumbo dogs were solid and the soft pretzel was very good. Plus the concessions staff was amazingly nice. (Certainly nicer that I was when I worked in baseball but that's another point - HA!)

The ticket price ($7.50) for a few rows behind the home dugout on the first base side was right on par. Oh, and parking was free! I hate paying to park and that was cool to have it for free! What stood out more than anything else was how clean the stadium was. I know that it is only its second season of use but it was VERY clean. It is a beautiful ballpark and the atmosphere was great all night.

Overall, the evening was a solid "A" effort ... I'll go back!