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The Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Sport Complex (also known as Williams Township Ballpark) was a proposed $15 million, 6,400 seat stadium that was slated to be built directly off I-78 in Williams Township, Pennsylvania, near Easton. The project would become one of the most expensive sporting complex failures in recent history. == History == The idea for the stadium was originally devised by Paoli, Pennsylvania businessman Thomas X. Flaherty. Plans were for the new stadium to host the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, as well as the Lehigh Valley Steam of pro soccer's A-League. Flaherty had considered the following factors in building the stadium: *The economic boom of the 1990s meant that more people were attending sporting events than ever before; *Low construction costs and increased access to local, state and federal bonds and grants allowed sporting complexes to be built; *At the time the Lehigh Valley did not have a minor league baseball team within its geographical region. The nearby city of Allentown already had been awarded a baseball team, the Allentown Ambassadors of the independent Northeast League; however, the Ambassadors were thought to be at a disadvantage, as they were slated to play their home games Allentown's aging Bicentennial Park; *Bicentennial Park was already more than fifty years old, had not undergone renovations since the mid-1970s, and was in the middle of a depressed neighborhood without much highway access or parking. Further, the twenty-year-old renovations were made with softball, not baseball, in mind. Flaherty had hoped that a brand-new stadium in a quiet suburban setting, with easy highway access, would draw fans away from Allentown; *The complex was to be built near the city of Easton, Pennsylvania, which is on the eastern side of the Lehigh Valley, whereas Allentown is located on the western section of the valley. Easton would also be a good location to attract fans from the nearby Phillipsburg, New Jersey area, home to about 15,000 people. The Black Diamonds were owned by the Lehigh Valley Professional Sports Club, which was controlled by Flaherty. The land the stadium was to be built on was owned by a Pennsylvania non-profit organization, Northwestern Human Services (NHS), on whose Board of Trustees Flaherty sat. The non-profit qualified for a $5 million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; NHS hoped that its involvement in the stadium would raise its profile in the community and create awareness for its programs.〔(Brookridge )〕 Plans were for the Black Diamonds to open their 1998 season in the new park; however, construction was delayed and did not commence until December 1998. Plans were changed for play at the stadium to start in the 2000 season. In the meantime, the construction delay caused the Lehigh Valley Steam soccer team to fold, after playing its sole season in 1999 on various high school fields in the area. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Sport Complex」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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