Senators to host the 2010 Eastern League All-Stars

 Harrisburg announces Friday that Metro Bank Park will host the 2010 Eastern League All-Star Game.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

BY GEOFF MORROW gmorrow@patriot-news.com

Harrisburg couldn't ask for a better opportunity to show off its new baseball digs.

By hosting the 2010 Eastern League All-Star Game, the Senators will be the center of attention for two days in mid-July.

The all-star event begins Tuesday, July 13, and will conclude with the evening game between the Northern and Southern divisions July 14.

"It's a perfect year for us to have it," Senators president Kevin Kulp said. "There will be a national spotlight on our new stadium. This year would have been bad, but 2010 is good.

"It's the day after the major league all-star game, and there's not a lot going on [in the world of sports], so there will be focus on us. The ballpark will be spotlighted."

That ballpark, Metro Bank Park, is in the midst of a $45 million makeover that is expected to be completed by next April.

City Island hasn't hosted an all-star game since 1988, the year after the ballpark was originally built. The Senators rejoined the Eastern League in 1987, and the stadium was briefly considered a jewel.

Quickly, though, it grew outdated, and talk of a stadium overhaul began last decade.

The city and state, after years of discussions, finally put a financial package together in December, and stadium expansion and renovations began this winter.

The meat of the project, which includes redoing the seating bowl, will begin after this season.

In Kulp's previous front-office stops, he's twice been part of hosting an all-star game. Delmarva (Md.) hosted its league all-star game in 1997, and Lexington (Ky.) did the same in 2002.

"With the Eastern League, you're a lot more responsible for logistics," said Kulp, who joined the Senators' front office last July. "Players are coming from all over, there are a lot of roster moves leading up to the game, and we're responsible for getting them in and out of here."

While specific plans and events won't be finalized for months, Kulp expects to give the game an area flavor.

Wednesday's home run derby, he hopes, will have a "Harrisburg twist." And he wants to incorporate a City Island theme into the entire extravaganza.

"There's no reason we can't put on one of the coolest all-star games, not just for our fans but for the league, too," Kulp said. "It is a big deal. This is going to show the kind of baseball city Harrisburg is."

The event should provide a bump to local hotels, restaurants and retailers, and some famous folks could be on hand.

This year's all-star game, played two weeks ago in Trenton, drew 7,474 fans and featured, among others, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

"Having the foresight to slot us for 2010, that credit goes to the city," Kulp said. "And the ownership trusted the staff that we could do this, that we could put on a good event."

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