The first leg of this USRT adventure is on the books, and an auspicious start it was.

We planted the flag at Allentown’s Coca Cola Park, the newest team in the International League, meaning that we have again attended a game in each of the league’s 14 venues. And basically, we give high marks to the entire Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs experience.

The stadium is a real gem – small and intimate, with a total capacity of just 10,000, counting berm seating and standing room. There is not a bad seat in the house, with all seating configured towards home plate. And there are awesome vantage points in terms of group seating – a left field picnic deck allows groups of 8 or more to enjoy their own table seating, and access to a buffet meal and beverages. There are party suites at each end of the club level. But we give the highest props to the dugout suites directly behind home plate. There are four suites, with a capacity of 30 in each, with an amazing view of the field, and just 53 feet away from home plate.

The LED scoreboard is massive – the largest we have seen in the minors. The field dimensions also offer a number of quirks, including a high right field wall, and the seating bowl jogs sharply into the field area down each baseline, opening the possibility of weird caroms to rope hits which would normally roll down to the outfield wall.

But the best part of the experience here are the fans – folks here really get into the game. They clap along to the music, shout their “oinks” to rally the team, and the crowds are really intense as they follow the balls and strikes.

In no particular order, here are our “cheers” and “jeers”…

Cheers – to the awesome scoreboard, crowned by a coca cola bottle which opens and shoots off a firework salute each time the home team plates a run.

Cheers – for the largest and best stocked team merchandise store we have seen anywhere. This place was massive!

Jeers – The pressbox is tiny and cramped, reminiscent of Indianapolis’ Victory Field. Room for only six writers, two phone booths for the broadcasters. What were they thinking!?

Cheers – All 72 home games are televised on the local cable system. Some fans have then asked “Why aren’t the road games on TV?”

Jeers – Media meal was the ultimate ballpark dreck, some awful doughy pizza. Hey – teams aren’t obligated to serve up food for the reporters, but in our travel experience we found that the newer the venue and the higher level of play, the nicer the food is. Not here!

Cheers – On a more positive note, the ballpark concession fare looked much better.

Jeers – For a new venue, the visitors clubhouse was somewhat cramped. Again what were they thinking? But the space was nicely appointed – carpeted and nice furnishings and plasma TV sets.

Cheers – The great memorabilia showcasing the community’s industrial heritage. Murals of foundries and steel plants, themed concession stands. All nice but not over the top.

Cheers – the club level is stunning. Step off the elevator and there is a huge bar, and floor to ceiling glass walls offer a great view of home plate from that spot. Nice seating and concession areas add to the ambience.

So that’s about it on Everything Coca Cola Park… now we point the car eastward towards the Big Apple, and tonight we give the final USRT to Shea Stadium and the New York Mets. We’re hooking up with our road trip buds Gary and The King and that is always a hoot!

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