Point Stadium
Point Stadium is a baseball stadium located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The "Point" refers to its location is at the confluence of the Little Conemaugh, Stonycreek, and Conemaugh rivers. It is home to the annual All-American Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) national baseball tournament and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown's NCAA Division II college baseball team.
Original stadium
The original stadium opened in 1926 with a capacity of 17,000. The stadium featured an upper-deck on top of the grandstand. The Greater Johnstown High School football team regularly sold out the Point for their rivalry games against Windber High School and Altoona Area High School. The upper grandstand was later removed and capacity was reduced to 10,000. It was the home of numerous minor-league baseball teams and the All-American Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) World Series baseball tournament.[1] It was also used for filming in All The Right Moves.
The original Point Stadium had unusual field dimensions. Fitted into a rectangular city block, it was just 251 feet down the right-field line and 262 feet down the left-field line, but bulged out to over 400 feet in center field, depending on the location of a snow fence which cut off the farthest reaches of the stadium in right center field. Huge nets were put in left field to keep balls in play, preventing easy home runs, and also to prevent balls from reaching the adjacent street.
- The original Point Stadium's dimensions (1926–2002)
- Left Field Foul Line: 262 feet
- Center Field: 385 feet
- Right Field Foul Line: 251 feet
Current stadium
The original Point Stadium was torn down in 2005 to make room for a new $8 million Point Stadium. The new, 7,500-seat stadium opened on August 8, 2006, for a game between Johnstown and Chicago in the annual AAABA National Tournament.[1] Bishop McCort High School currently plays its home football games here. Sportexe artificial turf was installed before the 2007 AAABA National Tournament.
- The current Point Stadium's dimensions
- Left Field Foul Line: 290 feet
- Left Center Field: 336 feet
- Center Field: 409 feet
- Right Center Field: 395
- Right Field Foul Line: 290 feet
AAABA Hall of Fame
Point Stadium is home to the AAABA Hall of Fame which was established in the stadium in 1994.
UPJ Mountain Cats
Point Stadium is the home stadium for the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Mountain Cats college baseball team, an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Prior to joining the PSAC in 2013-14, UPJ competed as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and hosted that conference's baseball championship tournament at Point Stadium in the 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012 seasons. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference also held its conference baseball tournament at the stadium in 2010 and 2011.
Truman visit
In October, 1948 President Harry Truman gave a major speech at the stadium.[2]
Pittsburgh Steelers Practices
The Pittsburgh Steelers have used the stadium for in-season game practices and workouts, the last time being during the 1987 strike season.[3]
Footnotes
- 1 2 Johnstown's Historic Point Stadium: Home of the AAABA National Tournament. All-American Amateur Baseball Association official website. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xn5IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WmoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1644%2C4474492
- ↑ , Pittsburgh Press 09-24-1987
External links
- Photographs of Point Stadium - Rochester Area Ballparks The movie "All The Right Moves" had scenes filmed here.
- Point Stadium at wviac.org
Coordinates: 40°19′44″N 78°55′30″W / 40.329°N 78.925°W
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Don Edwards Park |
Host of the FL All-Star Game Point Stadium 1995 |
Succeeded by Don McBride Stadium |