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Warm Weather Helping Make Home Opener the Best Yet

MOOSIC — Baseball is officially back in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the timing could not be better. Monday was the warmest day of the year so far, afte...

MOOSIC -- Baseball is officially back in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the timing could not be better. Monday was the warmest day of the year so far, after weeks of cold, wet weather.

Park officials were concerned the field would not be ready for Monday night, but after the return of sunshine and warm temperatures the weekend leading up to opening night, officials say it may be one of the best home openers ever.

The box office at PNC Field in Moosic in Lackawanna County was crowded all day Monday, for people to find there were only standing room only tickets left.

That wasn't the case for Ron Lisk, though. He lives in Virginia, but Scranton is his hometown. He has been a season ticket holder for almost a decade.

"This will be my very, very first home season opener, because I checked the weather. The weather is usually always cool, rainy, windy. That's just not a good time to be sitting at a ballpark," Lisk said.

Once people realized Monday night was going to be baseball weather, they decided to try their luck and get last-minute tickets. Box office workers say they have never seen a home opener like this one.

"This is spring time a little bit early so I'm taking advantage of it," Lisk said.

"This is the same feel as like July 4th," RailRiders President Josh Olerud said. "Comparatively right now, the way we're going to run the game is at max capacity, as if it was a July 4th game that typically we would sell out too," he continued.

There are some new things to look forward to this season: there is a completely revamped food and beverage menu, a renovated team store, and a new bar and grill in center field. Now, you will also be able to use an app on your phone to order food and have it delivered right to your seat.

"I think fans are really going to appreciate it and enjoy it. They spent the money to be here," said John Klavius, the vice president of operations with TapIn2, the app company.

Additionally, for the first time ever, the entire ballpark will offer free WiFi.

"It's something that people expect now. I think it's going to help people post where they're at. It'll obviously help us brand the field and the team. It's a win win for everyone," Olerud said.

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