Altoona Curve

The Altoona Curve are a minor league baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a kind of pitch). The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Curve play in Peoples Natural Gas Field, located in Altoona; it was opened in 1999 and seats 7,210 fans.

The Altoona Curve hosted the Eastern League All-Star Game at Blair County Ballpark on July 12, 2006, before a standing-room-only crowd of 9,308.

History

The Altoona Curve franchise began when Arizona and Tampa Bay were both awarded major-league franchises in which were to start playing in the 1998-season. The addition of these two teams had a domino effect through baseball with the expansion of not only the major leagues, but throughout minor-league baseball as well. With this expansion, AA baseball received two new teams to begin play in the 1999 season. The Erie SeaWolves were already an established minor-league team with outstanding short-season attendance, and were quickly awarded one of the new franchises. The second spot in the new, larger Eastern League looked to be headed to Springfield, Massachusetts, but city native Bob Lozinak, developer Tate DeWeese, businessman Mark Thomas and a group of Pennsylvania lawmakers rallied to get the final spot, making a formal presentation to league officials on October 5, 1997. The proposal received unanimous support and Altoona won the other franchise.