Allentown denies Lehigh Valley IronPigs rescue money for stadium renovations; could force Phillies farm team to relocate

Allentown City Council narrowly voted Wednesday night to deny American Rescue Plan funding to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for renovations to Coca-Cola Park, a move that team officials say could force it to relocate.

In a 4-3 vote, Candida Affa, Ed Zucal, Natalie Santos and Ce-Ce Gerlach voted to give no funding to the IronPigs.

Council members who voted against the allocation said it was the county’s responsibility to ensure the team keeps its affiliation with MLB and stays in Allentown. Lehigh County owns Coca-Cola Park.

They also lamented that MLB has required $10 million in renovations but offered minor league teams no financial assistance.

“Major League Baseball is holding us hostage,” Affa said.

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk said council could be making a “grave mistake” by denying the funding. IronPigs general manager Kurt Landes and co-owner Joe Finley said denial could force the team out of Allentown.

‘It’s not us threatening to leave,” Landes said. “They will take the IronPigs away,” he added, referring to the MLB.

Finley, also a co-owner of the Trenton Thunder baseball team, which lost its MLB affiliation in 2020, warned that the IronPigs could face a similar fate.

“The legacy of this city and this committee will be the loss of the Triple-A Phillies,” Finley said.

Finley and Landes declined to comment on council’s vote after the meeting.

In a separate vote, council voted unanimously to grant $1 million in rescue plan funding to the Da Vinci Science Center.

The votes come after nearly a year of controversy over the awards, with some on council and in Allentown believing they show unfair favoritism to the two prominent institutions.

The IronPigs requested $1.5 million from the city’s ARPA funds for COVID-19 safety improvements to Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs must make nearly $10 million in improvements to the park by April 2023 to continue the team’s affiliation with Major League Baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Landes has repeatedly warned that the IronPigs could be forced to leave Allentown if they cannot raise enough money for the renovations. Pennsylvania has committed $2 million, Lehigh County up to $4.5 million and Northampton County $200,000 toward stadium improvements. The IronPigs have also committed $1.5 million.

The county had initially committed $1.5 million, but last month threw in an additional $2.3 million of American Rescue Plan funds with the possibility of supplying an additional $700,000 at a future date. That extra $700,000 could hinge on whether City Council awarded the money, according to a letter from LV Baseball LP, the limited partnership of theIronPigs, to the county.

The Da Vinci Science Center requested $1.5 million to install a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and exhibits and programming for its new facility in downtown Allentown, slated to open in 2024. The Da Vinci Center has raised $64 million for the facility and needs $8 million more to fully develop the space.

Members have wavered on whether to award the organizations money since late 2021. Former Mayor Ray O’Connell proposed giving $1 million to the IronPigs and $2 million to the Science Center, but changed plans after pushback from some Allentown residents and city council members who believed the awards showed unfair preference to the two prominent institutions.

Affa cast the deciding vote on the two awards. In June she joined a vote to indefinitely delay the expenditures, but in September and October voted to move them forward, and said she “did not want to be the councilperson that saw Coca-Cola Park” and the IronPigs leave Allentown.

At the meeting, she acknowledged how she had publicly waffled on the decision and said she had “lost sleep” over the choice.

“We’ve discussed this so many times, I’ve flipped and I’ve flopped,” Affa said. “But ... if we can save 2 million by just giving Da Vinci a million and not giving the Pigs anything, we save $2 million, something for communities, something for the homeless, more police officers, so many things.”

Affa and others who opposed the IronPigs funding, but supported Da Vinci, said they think the science center would do more to benefit Allentown kids: the center has committed to making admission nearly free for low income Allentown residents.

Landes countered, citing the several community initiatives the IronPigs support, including hosting education days and high school games, and said the IronPigs are “proud to be in Allentown.”

“It’s hard to imagine that for everything we do and aim to do for the entire community and Allentown to have the support of 0, when we work tremendously hard day in and day out to represent the community,” he said.

Tuerk and other council members warned council against shutting the door on IronPigs funding while the city has no concrete plan in place to spend some of it.

Allentown has set aside $18 million in American Rescue Plan funding specifically for community initiatives, but the Da Vinci Science Center allocation is the first and only one the city has made in that category.

“We have to stop creating zero sum game analyses, we have to stop thinking this is one versus the other,” council member Josh Siegel said. “Organizations like the IronPigs aren’t just business partners, they’re not just economic development assets, they’re community partners.”