Earlier today at our monthly UIP2 meeting, we had Eric Menzer, President of the York Revolution as our guest presenter. The downtown in York, PA is very much like what we have in Hagerstown, and our demographics are also similar. York built a multiuse ballpark in 2007. They host 70 high level baseball games a year and average about 3000 fans per game. They also host a variety of other sporting and non-sporting events throughout the year and consider themselves a “hospitality” entity – not a baseball park. Since opening, the project has spurred over $120M in capital investments in the surrounding area. Mr. Menzer talked with our group about the process they went through to build their ballpark, its impact on the community, how they create a great fan experience for their many events, and the advantages of being part of the Atlantic League vs an affiliated minor league team. Our group found the presentation educational and inspirational as it showed us what is possible for a downtown like ours. A pdf of Eric’s PowerPoint and a memo with details on the Atlantic League are posted under the Publications page our our website. The Atlantic League is expanding and we see a locally owned expansion team as a viable option to be the anchor tenant for a similar project in our community.