It was announced today that the Lancaster Barnstormers, in conjunction with the Lancaster County Redevelopment Authority and CRIZ, will be installing artificial turf at Clipper Magazine Stadium for the 2024 season. A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Friday January 19th at 1pm where local and state officials are expected to be on hand for the event and will say a few words.
This project, which begins this week, is expected to take 8 to 12 weeks, weather permitting. The turf will be installed by the time the Barnstormers take the field for spring training games in mid-April. It will make Clipper Magazine Stadium one of six Atlantic League facilities to have an artificial playing field.
The artificial surface, like the others in the league, will cover the entire field, including the bases and the home plate area. A removable Perfect Mound, similar to the one used at High Point’s Truist Point, will be installed as well.
The installation of the artificial turf is being primarily funded by the City Revitalization & Improvement Zone (CRIZ). “The Baseball Team and Redevelopment Authority want to sincerely thank the Lancaster CRIZ Authority for approving and providing significant investment to this capital project” said Justin Eby, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority.
Clipper Magazine Stadium, with the new surface, will be able to have an efficiency of conversion of the field from its primary baseball use to other sports, concerts, and many different events not possible before. The prep time from event to event will be greatly lessened.
Clipper Magazine Stadium played host to an event on 323 days of the 2022-2023 fiscal year but looks to be able to expand beyond that in upcoming years. “Our goal is to be the center of the community, making ourselves available to as many segments of the public as we can, said team president and general manager Mike Reynolds. “Before, we couldn’t risk not having a safe surface for baseball, but this will allow us to turn around the field more quickly without interrupting the flow of the Barnstormers schedule.”