Opening day brings much anticipation and excitement to ballplayers at any level. Dial that emotion up even further when your fanbase is reinvigorated by ballpark renovations and the future of the franchise on the roster. Last night brought the home debut of this year's Harrisburg Senators and the unveiling of the revamped Metro Bank Park on City Island in front of an enthusiastic turnout.

Even in these tough economic times, it became necessary for the city of Harrisburg and the ballclub to make changes to the increasingly outdated Senators' home. Any serious ballpark (especially at the Double-A level) could not continue with the metal bleachers and shoddy clubhouses. Last year we got a small taste of the changes as the boardwalk was built out around the outfield wall and the video board was upgraded to something pretty fantastic.

So, the unveiling of the new ballpark and its massive improvements is obviously a big freaking deal. But for most of the morning and afternoon today if you went out to Pennlive.com (our local internet gateway to the Patriot-News) you wouldn't even know they also played a baseball game there last night too.  On the website's front page we can:  

• watch video of the embattled mayor Linda Thompson throw out the first pitch
• read how the renovated park "wows Harrisburg Senators fans on opening night"
• see how the new concessions fared (the barbecue parfait of pulled pork, baked beans and cole slaw in a cup received high marks, while the roasted corn on the cob left alot to be desired)