ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Those fearing the Lehigh Valley could lose the minor league IronPigs baseball team can rest easy.
Lehigh County said in a joint statement with the IronPigs Thursday that the team has signed on to lease Coca-Cola Park for the next three decades.
- Lehigh County has committed to ensuring the Lehigh Valley IronPigs will be able to close remaining funding gap in stadium improvements.
- IronPigs have signed a lease extension through 2052.
- Team needs to make nearly $10 million in upgrades to Coca-Cola Park by the start of next season.
“The IronPigs have signed a lease extension to play in Lehigh County’s Coca-Cola Park thru the 2052 season and the current construction will allow the IronPigs to meet MLB’s facility standards,” the statement said.
"The IronPigs will call Lehigh County and Coca-Cola Park home for decades and generations to come.”
Just Wednesday night, Allentown’s City Council denied the team any funding for a nearly $10 million stadium improvement project demanded by the MLB.
“The IronPigs will call Lehigh County and Coca-Cola Park home for decades and generations to come.”Lehigh County in a statement
But the county, which owns the stadium and already contributed as much as $3 million to the needed stadium improvements, said it is committed to working with the team to close any remaining gap in funding needed to ensure the facilities are up to the MLB’s standards by the start of next season.
The county also noted it was “disappointed” by Allentown’s decision.
“Although disappointed by the votes of the four City of Allentown Council members at yesterday’s meeting, the IronPigs and Lehigh County are jointly committed to determining a plan to allow the already existing construction process to be completed on time in advance of Opening Day next season,” the statement read.
