A Wednesday Afternoon Visit To FNB Field, Home Of The Harrisburg Senators – Part I, Pre-Game Tour

Last Wednesday afternoon, during my business trip to Carlisle, PA (ArcBest), I found myself with a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, I had circled the Harrisburg Senators and their very unique baseball field and field location as a must-see spot on my trip (time permitting). On the other hand, the local weather station had declared Wednesday an “impact day,” meaning that weather conditions were probably going to go from bad to worse as the day went into evening and game time. Should I take the drive out to FNB and just do a perimeter tour of the field and surrounding area and call that a victory? Should I risk buying a ticket for a game that might be cancelled, knowing it was unlikely that I would be back in Harrisburg any time soon to go to a rescheduled game? Should I flip a coin or should I just say, the heck with the impact weather forecast and just go and let the chips fall where they may? Well, after much thought and inner dialogue deliberation and a delicious lunch at the Middlesex Diner, I decided to take the drive to Harrisburg, to City Island, to FNB Field and experience the Harrisburg Senators up close and personal. And purchase a ticket and hope for the best.

FNB Field is located on City Island, which is connected to the mainland areas of Harrisburg (PA) by a series of bridges. You can enter City Island from east and west sides of City Island by foot, bike, car, truck – all over bridges that span the Susquehanna River. The Walnut Street Bridge, which is for foot, bicycle, stroller traffic only, connects the downtown section of Harrisburg right to the driveway leading up to FNB Field. You can see the field from the bridge. It was one of the most interesting field locations I think I have ever experienced. More on the bridges and were they led to on the other side in a minute.

After parking in the city parking lot, I made my way over to the ticket office, checking the skies for any signs of this “impact” type weather. At my time of arrival at FNB, the skies were mostly sunny, and the sun was shining brightly. It was actually a really nice day weather wise, far from the doom and gloom forecast I had listened to all morning on the local TV stations. I walked up to the ticket booth, inquired if they were still going to have a game, I got a few responses like “why wouldn’t we have a game, is there supposed to be bad weather?” and decided based on this local knowledge of how things work in Harrisburg to purchase a ticket, a general admission bleacher seat, for the game. Per the signage around the ticket booth, the gates would open around 5:30pm and First Pitch was scheduled for 6:30pm. The time was 2:11. So, I had another dilemma on my hands.

I could head back to my hotel, about a 25 minute ride, and hope that the game would go on, and drive back in rush hour traffic with the goal of getting to the game for 6:30. Or, I could take the few hours I had to “kill” and tour Harrisburg, City Island, check out a library or two, maybe a bookstore, get a coffee, and just ride it out at and around FNB Field until 5:30 and gates opening and eventually 6:30 game time. I called Rachel and got her two cents on the matter and decided to just stay in and around FNB and explore and be ready when the gates opened at 5:30. And so, I began exploring and walking and traversing the area around FNB Field, City Island, and one or two times over the Walnut Street Bridge. Foreshadowing a bit here, but I did a ton of walking.

I was lucky I brought my running shoes to this FNB Field experience because I ended up walking like 15,000 steps. I started over the Walnut Street Bridge and stopped to take in a few views of the other bridges and the downtown Harrisburg area and FNB Field. There were a few cyclists, some commuters on lunch break, some joggers, and a bunch of walkers like me going back and forth over the Walnut Street Bridge. I loved the view, it was amazing. A dam of wooden structures, tree trunks, and branches had collected on a few of the bridge supports at the water level. Other than that, the Susquehanna River was flowing nicely. Again, no real weather threats as of yet. I crossed the bridge into Harrisburg, grabbed a coffee, and walked over to the McCormick Riverfront Library on Walnut Street. Inside the library, I found a few historical books on parks in Harrisburg and snapped a photo of a famous Harrisburg Giants player, Spotswood Poles. Cool name for a baseball player.

There were some picnic benches along the river’s edge, up the hill, and I sat there and finished my coffee looking out over the river to FNB Field. A few more clouds were starting to fill up the sky, some looking a bit darker than others. There was a bike path/lane right next to the Harrisburg business entrance to the Walnut Street Bridge. I remembered a story on a local TV show about a charity bike ride to honor those who had been hit or perhaps injured or killed on their bikes in downtown Harrisburg. I remembered the story and found a race sign on the bike path advertising the event.

Time was ticking, but not as fast as I would have liked. I still had about 2 hours to “kill” before gates opened. So, I made my way back over the Walnut Street Bridge and decided to take a self guided tour of City Island. There was a paved walking path just up the hill from the river that took me past a riverboat dock, some local eateries, picnic areas, a playground, a soccer field, more playgrounds, and all the way down to the Harrisburg Beach Club. There was a lot to see and take in, and I certainly had the time to do it. So, I gave each spot a thorough looking.

By the time I got down to the river’s edge and the blue and white seats, then back up the driveway to FNB Field, it was just under one hour until game time. My feet were killing me, my back was killing me, my knees were killing me, and then I looked up and noticed the rain. I found shelter in a covered gazebo pretty close to the ticket office and waited out a nearly 25 minute downpour. I’m not sure if it thundered and lightninged, but it was raining like nobody’s business. When the rain stopped, it was less than 30 minutes to opening gate time, so I went to check on my rental car. I could see a line of cars now in the parking lot across from where I parked, so I asked the parking lot attendant if I needed to move my car. She said “well you beat us here, you don’t have to pay, leave it right where it is.” And that I did. Since I still had a few more minutes to spare, I followed the road leading out of the FNB parking area and to maybe check out what was on the other side of the Market Street Bridge, the bridge I took to get onto City Island with my car. From the ramp leading up to the bridge, I spotted a train station that I wanted to check out in person.

As I walked up the driveway from the Walnut St. Station, I noticed a number of fans walking towards the front gate area and decided to join them. Nearly 3 and 1/2 hours of walking around Harrisburg, City Island, the Harrisburg Beach Club, McCormick Riverfront Library, Walnut Street Bridge a few times, and dodging rain drops, I was finally ready to hand my ticket to the ticket agent and enter FNB Field for a baseball game. Wow, my feet were sore and my body was tired but I was super energized the second I stopped onto the concourse of FNB Field at or around 5:31pm. And remembering those nearly 4 hours of exploring Harrisburg makes me really think hard about whether I made a smart choice or not. The experiences and the photos and the river and the riverboat and the beach club and the library and the bridges – well, I am glad I experienced them all. And now it was time to experience all the FNB Field had to offer. And perhaps catch a glimpse of Rhode Island’s Alex Clemmey, a LHP for the Harrisburg Senators.

Part 2 of my FNB Field adventure features a tour of FNB from home plate to center field and beyond. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go ice my knee!!!