Best HS stadium?

[Zeldas Open Roof]

South Park built a new stadium and it’s ok but no visitor section annoys me to no end. Plus, you have to park up top and walk down an extremely steep stairs to get to bleachers.
Tough for your older crowd.

stadiums in south hills are all cookie cutter. Bethels is bland, usc always had a boring stadium but they are redoing their boxes which look sick. Mt lebo stadium kinda sucks but I haven’t been there in awhile so it could have improved.

Back in the 90s, Baldwin’s stadium was always perceived as nicer but that was back in the yanessa days so I’m dating myself.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

South Park built a new stadium and it’s ok but no visitor section annoys me to no end. Plus, you have to park up top and walk down an extremely steep stairs to get to bleachers.
Tough for your older crowd.

stadiums in south hills are all cookie cutter. Bethels is bland, usc always had a boring stadium but they are redoing their boxes which look sick. Mt lebo stadium kinda sucks but I haven’t been there in awhile so it could have improved.

Back in the 90s, Baldwin’s stadium was always perceived as nicer but that was back in the yanessa days so I’m dating myself.

You South Hills people know you don't need a valid passport to go to another area of the county right?

 

[Fk_Pitt]

You South Hills people know you don't need a valid passport to go to another area of the county right?

But...should have ID to vote.

 

[JS School]

North hills looks pretty cool. The no track thing makes it. Really, if you consider it a great football venue, it’s not gonna have a track. North hills is one of a very few that has this feature.

there is actually a little restaurant on the hill above it. It’d be cool if that place built a back deck and got a liquor license. The deck would overlook the footbsll stadium. That’d be sweet sitting up there with an outside bar during a Friday night gsme.

There is a beer distributor between the restaurant and the stadium entrance. They have a flat bed truck rather than a deck.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Have you been to Upper St Clair since they added the enormous building? I'm curious what that's like.

No, it’s been a long time since I was out to USC.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

No, it’s been a long time since I was out to USC.

It’s reminiscent to me of Robert Morris’ stadium, being that it’s essentially an office building that overlooks the stadium and thus has a press box built in. The difference being that the Robert Morris facility houses all their athletic offices. At USC, I believe it houses all of their district administration as well. So it’s much bigger.

 

[pghcraig10]

South Park built a new stadium and it’s ok but no visitor section annoys me to no end. Plus, you have to park up top and walk down an extremely steep stairs to get to bleachers.
Tough for your older crowd.

stadiums in south hills are all cookie cutter. Bethels is bland, usc always had a boring stadium but they are redoing their boxes which look sick. Mt lebo stadium kinda sucks but I haven’t been there in awhile so it could have improved.

Back in the 90s, Baldwin’s stadium was always perceived as nicer but that was back in the yanessa days so I’m dating myself.

South Park built a new stadium and it’s ok but no visitor section annoys me to no end. Plus, you have to park up top and walk down an extremely steep stairs to get to bleachers.
Tough for your older crowd.

stadiums in south hills are all cookie cutter. Bethels is bland, usc always had a boring stadium but they are redoing their boxes which look sick. Mt lebo stadium kinda sucks but I haven’t been there in awhile so it could have improved.

Back in the 90s, Baldwin’s stadium was always perceived as nicer but that was back in the yanessa days so I’m dating myself.

Ya I am not a fan of South Park's new stadium. There is no reason for not putting the visitors side bleachers back up. Before they put the new fieldhouse/locker room we used to practice on that field there and then they used it to park there.

 

[PittAU]

Valley's stadium has possibly the best sight-lines in the entire WPIAL.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

The problem with Canon Mac's stadium has always been parking - or the lack of it. On more than one occasion, they had the chance to correct it, but the "decision-makers" were rebuffed by older, very vocal, well-intentioned, but short-sighted people who were deathly afraid that their taxes would increase.

The plan to put everything at the site of what is now "Southpointe" would've put the high school and the stadium centrally located in the school district - that is, the place where the borough of Canonsburg, Cecil Township, and North Strabane Township meet. (It's my understanding that it was an either/or conundrum: school + stadium or Southpointe). Choosing one meant you didn't get the other; choosing school + stadium would've meant that there wouldn't be Southpointe, and from a pure, economic standpoint, Southpointe has attracted a lot of high-end, high tech jobs into an area that was an outdated, dying, mining and (small) manufacturing area. Unfortunately, it meant a trade-off and tough decisions...and I suspect that they might have made a better decision with Southpointe, as painful as it was.

The borough of Canonsburg is basically land-locked re: growth, but Cecil and North Strabane Twps have been booming - making Canon Mac one of the largest school districts in the WPIAL. The growth has affected their high school sports, as they've recently won WPIAL and/or PIAA titles in the so-called "minor" sports (boys/girls soccer, baseball, softball. track-field, girls volleyball, wrestling), but they haven't gotten over-the-hump in football or basketball. And FWIW, their high school band is really impressive.

Well, if it was a complex or that development, then of course they chose wisely. However, Southpointe is at least 20 or 30 times the size of what they would need for a football stadium and a K-12 campus, much less just the high school.

I honestly don’t know the details. I was just told the story at a Pitt tailgate a few years back. However, perhaps I misunderstood him or perhaps he didn’t know what the hell he was talking about?

However, the way it was relayed to me made sense. Basically, the developer wanted a long-term tax abatement and in exchange for it, he would build the high school and stadium somewhere on that enormous property.

Again though, I definitely could be way off on this. Without knowing any of the details to such an agreement it’s reckless to say in the decision was good or bad — or if there was ever even a decision to be made? However, I can tell you that if you go to Canon-Mac’s Stadium, you definitely come away saying, “Man, they definitely could use a new school and field.“

As I said though, from a Western Pennsylvania perspective, it is as stereotypically Western PA as it gets. Once you figure out the parking situation, it’s a nice place to watch a game.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Well, if it was a complex or that development, then of course they chose wisely. However, Southpointe is at least 20 or 30 times the size of what they would need for a football stadium and a K-12 campus, much less just the high school.

I honestly don’t know the details. I was just told the story at a Pitt tailgate a few years back. However, perhaps I misunderstood him or perhaps he didn’t know what the hell he was talking about?

However, the way it was relayed to me made sense. Basically, the developer wanted a long-term tax abatement and in exchange for it, he would build the high school and stadium somewhere on that enormous property.

Again though, I definitely could be way off on this. Without knowing any of the details to such an agreement it’s reckless to say in the decision was good or bad. However, I can tell you that if you go to Canon-Mac’s Stadium, you definitely come away saying, “Man, they definitely could use a new school and field.“

As I said though, from a Western Pennsylvania perspective, it is as stereotypically Western PA as it gets.

The school is very nice. And due to the nice, large gymnasium, they pack in thousands for Powerade Wrestling every year and host plenty of neutral site events (playoffs). The biggest problem with the school is

1) don’t know how much more it can be expanded due to its footprint, and given the school has grown to be around the 5th largest in Wpial and still growing...not sure what it’s long term utility is. It’s still fairly new.

2) and of course the other problem with the school is it doesn’t have an on campus stadium. .

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

You South Hills people know you don't need a valid passport to go to another area of the county right?

LOL! Ain’t that the truth.

My college roommate was turning 30 and his wife decided to throw him a surprise party out by where they lived in Wexford.

She invited my parents to his birthday party and they refused to even consider it because, “Why the hell would we go all the way out to Wexford for a birthday party?”

They legitimately loved my college roommate, but that was a ridiculous request from their point of view.

I remember laughing and saying to them, “They live in Wexford, not Cleveland! It’s less than a half hour away!”

However, to them, Wexford may as well have been Seattle, because they were simply not crossing two bridges to attend any birthday party.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

You South Hills people know you don't need a valid passport to go to another area of the county right?

LOL - I get that line all the time from my father-in-law who lives in Bethel Park. We live near the Wexford/Cranberry border.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

LOL - I get that line all the time from my father-in-law who lives in Bethel Park. We live near the Wexford/Cranberry border.

. So true.
Bridgeville to Wexford is like 20 minutes on i79. But when you cross over a river, people think it’s like another state.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

LOL - I get that line all the time from my father-in-law who lives in Bethel Park. We live near the Wexford/Cranberry border.

Bethel Park is 10 minutes too far from everywhere else. South Park is 20 minutes too far from everywhere else.

 

[OhioPittFan]

I’ve been to a lot of the better Western PA and NE Ohio stadiums and I guess it depends on what you are focused on. Personally, I’m about the atmosphere. For instance, I’ve been to the new Canton McKinley Benson Stadium and while its impressive, the atmosphere isn’t there unless they are playing Massillon.

The best atmosphere I’ve seen is Steubenville. You are literally on the field there and the seats surround the stadium.

In the Youngstown area some great stadiums are:
- Warren Harding Mollenkopf Stadium -12k seats and has hosted some big games over the years.
- Niles McKinley Bo Rein Stadium - 10k+ seats, historic stadium. Recently renovated.
- Boardman Spartan Stadium - 7,500 seats new stadium w/ large video board - great video/entertainment and sound system.
- Austintown Fitch Falcon Stadium - 10k stadium with nice facilities and 2 decent sized video boards.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

I will say this about the people from my former area, the South Hills. At least they know how to merge going into a tunnel.

On the rare occasions when I do go through the tunnels nowadays, which isn’t as common as it used to be, I can always tell who is from the area and who isn’t by how skillfully they merge.

The less experienced folks always try to merge 2 1/2 miles away or 8 feet in front of the tunnel treat it like it’s the most harrowing thing they have ever done.

LOL! Honestly, I would love to just sit on the side of the road someday and just watch it all unfold for my own personal amusement. Maybe in retirement?

Why can’t people simply take turns - like 4 year-olds - and merge while going into a tunnel? Why is that like solving the Riddle of the Sphinx for some people?

It’s a tunnel, trust me, you’ll get there. Just take a deep breath and pay attention and just merge when the opportunity presents itself – it always does. Honestly, it’s kind of fun. I don’t do it as often as I used to but I genuinely miss it.

Also, if you’re driving through the tunnel and there’s nobody in front of you, please do not slam on your brakes! For the love of God, why do people slam on their brakes when they get into the tunnel? What are you doing? There are plenty of lights in there, you know.

My buddy, who lived in Wexford, always treated going through the Fort Pitt Tunnels like he had just survived World War II. It was the most ridiculous whining I’ve ever heard from a grown man.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I will say this about the people from my former area, the South Hills. At least they know how to merge going into a tunnel.

On the rare occasions when I do go through the tunnels nowadays, which isn’t as common as it used to be, I can always tell who is from the area and who isn’t by how they merge.

The less experienced folks always try to merge 2 1/2 miles away or 8 feet in front of the tunnel treat it like it’s the most harrowing thing they have ever done. LOL!

It’s a tunnel, trust me, you’ll get there. Just take a deep breath and pay attention and just merge when the opportunity presents itself – it always does. Honestly, it’s kind of fun. I don’t do it as often as I used to but I genuinely miss it.

Also, if you’re driving through the tunnel and there’s nobody in front of you, please do not slam on your brakes! For the love of God, why do people slam on their brakes when they get into the tunnel? What are you doing? There are plenty of lights in there, you know.

My buddy, who lived in Wexford, always treated going through the Fort Pitt Tunnels like he had just survived World War II. It was the most ridiculous whining I’ve ever heard from a grown man.

Well alot of cities are like this. But I think Pittsburgh is the one of the worst. And let's face it, downtown is right at the center of the county. Geographically and topographically, you have challenges like no other city. There are no beltways. There are essentially mountains between here and there. Because of the mountains, there are tunnels. Tunnels have this weird psychological impact on those driving through them. And then rivers, major rivers, mean major bridges. All of the above limit the size of the roads.

I know people from the South Hills would rather traverse Everest and K2 than Rt 28. The "T" only works for South Hills. HOV Lanes have been on and off a disaster for the North Hills. Nothing is more ominous or foreboding as having to face the Parkway East and the Squirrel Hill tunnels during morning and evening rush. And to go west, you have to enter a bridge that is fed by two decks, up and down, and 3 points of entry, across in some places, two major bridges, funneled into a tunnel, then straight up a hill. Joy!!!!!

And we wonder why we are like we are? So provincial. So insular. It is because going to Mars the planet from the Moon, seems easier than going from Moon Twp to Mars.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

You know, I have often wondered about that though as being perhaps our strength?

I think it was Myron Cope who once said that Pittsburgh is not a city as much as it is a collection of small towns and I think that’s exactly right.

Because of the geography, people do tend to stay in their own area - or the same general area - and those places have retained their own cultures. However, we all call it the same thing – Pittsburgh.

There are definitely lots of drawbacks to that as well, but I tend to think of it as a strength.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

You’re right about South Hills residents always being terrified of Route 28. I don’t really understand that. I drive on 28 often and I always tell people I don’t mind it at all. However, it’s definitely something that people make a big deal about.

I think it’s a little bit like 51 though for people from the North Hills and the Alle-Kiski Valley. I can’t stand 51, but it’s not the end of the world to drive on it. It’s just really ugly. However, from a flow standpoint, it has come a long, long way from where it was 15–20 years ago.

As I said, I don’t really have much reason to go over that way much anymore. However, people treat going there like it’s entering the bowels of hell. It’s not that bad. Have you been to TJ lately? There are a great many really nice homes there. It’s genuinely a lovely place. Go a little further to EF and you’ll see the same thing. Baldwin is lovely too. 51 is ugly, but that area is beautiful.

One phenomenon that I did notice by the time I got the high school was that “up 28 somewhere” they came to junk drawer for any town people weren’t very familiar with.

You would say to someone, “Hey, where the hell is Wilmerding?” They would say, “I think it’s up 28 somewhere.“

“Blawnox? Where is Blawnox?” “It’s up 28 somewhere.”

The other one people would say is, “I think that’s way down by Uniontown.”

LOL! I don’t know why, but they would speculate that it was “up 28 somewhere” or “way down by Uniontown.”

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

It’s reminiscent to me of Robert Morris’ stadium, being that it’s essentially an office building that overlooks the stadium and thus has a press box built in. The difference being that the Robert Morris facility houses all their athletic offices. At USC, I believe it houses all of their district administration as well. So it’s much bigger.

Bethel Park is 10 minutes too far from everywhere else. South Park is 20 minutes too far from everywhere else.

i lived in both and yes. You are right. It takes me 15 minutes to drive thru corrigan rd. It actuflly takes me 20 minutes to drive from my house in south Park to my parents in bethel. It’s like 4 miles birds eye but with roads, 20 minutes.

 

[mike412]

Ambridge was the best one I ever was in. But, that was 50-plus years ago. I went to a game more recently at the Wolverama and was a little disappointed.

Dr. VonYinzer, I believe at one time three teams played their home games at Scott Stadium in North Braddock: Braddock, Rankin and North Braddock Scott.

 

[mike412]

This is one of the coolest stadiums and settings. It is in Tacoma, WA. I remember it from a movie 10 Things I Hate About You. And the High School is even cooler.

Stadium High School is it’s official name. Clients of our firm produced that movie and everyone fell in love with the school. They just raved about the setting. They had the wrap party for the movie there and flew our entire firm (and about 200 other people) up there for it. I can’t believe that was over 20 years ago.

The football stadium was built in 1910 and they renamed the school a few years later. How often has a school been named after the stadium? The setting is truly fabulous on those sunny days which that area so seldom gets. It does have a track around it, but with the Sound right behind the Stadium, who notices?

it’s funny because the story is set in Seattle, in the Queen Anne neighborhood, but when the location scouts saw that high school, there was no argument about it being the school location.

The building was built in the 1890s and was supposed to be a luxury hotel. But, it was decimated by a fire before it even opened. The school district bought it and turned it into a truly spectacular high school. Tacoma isn’t that big and I think the school only has around 1,400 students — and it is the public high school for the entire city.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

You’re right about South Hills residents always being terrified of Route 28. I don’t really understand that. I drive on 28 often and I always tell people I don’t mind it at all. However, it’s definitely something that people make a big deal about.

I think it’s a little bit like 51 though for people from the North Hills and the Alle-Kiski Valley. I can’t stand 51, but it’s not the end of the world to drive on it. It’s just really ugly. However, from a flow standpoint, it has come a long, long way from where it was 15–20 years ago.

As I said, I don’t really have much reason to go over that way much anymore. However, people treat going there like it’s entering the bowels of hell. It’s not that bad. Have you been to TJ lately? There are a great many really nice homes there. It’s genuinely a lovely place. Go a little further to EF and you’ll see the same thing. Baldwin is lovely too. 51 is ugly, but that area is beautiful.

One phenomenon that I did notice by the time I got the high school was that “up 28 somewhere” they came to junk drawer for any town people weren’t very familiar with.

You would say to someone, “Hey, where the hell is Wilmerding?” They would say, “I think it’s up 28 somewhere.“

“Blawnox? Where is Blawnox?” “It’s up 28 somewhere.”

The other one people would say is, “I think that’s way down by Uniontown.”

LOL! I don’t know why, but they would speculate that it was “up 28 somewhere” or “way down by Uniontown.”

Well as someone who with my first job had to drive Natrona Heights to Coraopolis every day, I experienced the horrors of it all.

28 now is nowhere what it used to be? But all the roads converging at the point to lead into the Ft Pitt tunnel was the epitome of an anti Robert Frost poem.

What is funny is like the Mon Valley. I will say this, unless you lived there, there is no Pittsburgher over the last 50-75 years that would ever venture down 51 or 885 except for one reason.....KENNYWOOD!!

I still think what has hurt Pittsburgh's overall growth because we do have many advantages here is the lack of a true beltway system (not those horrendously outdated red, orange, yellow, green, etc... belts) That say could run around the Northern top (say Central Butler County, linking up 28 to 79, then going down to the airport, then probably going south from the Airport through like Imperial, South Fayette, Peters, all the way across to some place like Irwin and connect with the turnpike. Then wrap back around Latrobe, Vandergrift up Kittaning and back with 28.

Every city except I dunno, maybe Buffalo have some form of this.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Stadium High School is it’s official name. Clients of our firm produced that movie and everyone fell in love with the school. They just raved about the setting. They had the wrap party for the movie there and flew our entire firm (and about 200 other people) up there for it. I can’t believe that was over 20 years ago.

The football stadium was built in 1910 and they renamed the school a few years later. How often has a school been named after the stadium? The setting is truly fabulous on those sunny days which that area so seldom gets. It does have a track around it, but with the Sound right behind the Stadium, who notices?

it’s funny because the story is set in Seattle, in the Queen Anne neighborhood, but when the location scouts saw that high school, there was no argument about it being the school location.

The building was built in the 1890s and was supposed to be a luxury hotel. But, it was decimated by a fire before it even opened. The school district bought it and turned it into a truly spectacular high school. Tacoma isn’t that big and I think the school only has around 1,400 students — and it is the public high school for the entire city.

I mean that is the most awesome structure, along with setting, it looks like something that belongs in Quebec or Montreal or Europe.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

Well, if it was a complex or that development, then of course they chose wisely. However, Southpointe is at least 20 or 30 times the size of what they would need for a football stadium and a K-12 campus, much less just the high school.

I honestly don’t know the details. I was just told the story at a Pitt tailgate a few years back. However, perhaps I misunderstood him or perhaps he didn’t know what the hell he was talking about?

However, the way it was relayed to me made sense. Basically, the developer wanted a long-term tax abatement and in exchange for it, he would build the high school and stadium somewhere on that enormous property.

Again though, I definitely could be way off on this. Without knowing any of the details to such an agreement it’s reckless to say in the decision was good or bad — or if there was ever even a decision to be made? However, I can tell you that if you go to Canon-Mac’s Stadium, you definitely come away saying, “Man, they definitely could use a new school and field.“

As I said though, from a Western Pennsylvania perspective, it is as stereotypically Western PA as it gets. Once you figure out the parking situation, it’s a nice place to watch a game.

This is just my personal opinion (based on nadda) but...if you're familiar with Southpointe, there's the lower section (not far from the Canonsburg Exit on Rt. 79) referred to as "Main Street" where there's apartments, hotels, retail shops, and bar/restaurants. It's rather nice - especially for an area that desperately needed some respectable, local watering holes to socialize after work, evenings, and weekends. There's several decent bar/restaurants, a sports bar, a Steel Cactus, etc.

What's particularly unique about this "Main Street" development is that it's located on flat terrain, a rarity in that area. If a stadium + high school + parking had been built, there's a high probability that it would've been built where this commercial development is. Otherwise, the cost of construction (especially earth-moving) would've made the project astronomical.

These kinds of discussions are generally rhetorical; the decisions have been made, and there's no way to undo anything. And yeah, if you speak to some hardcore Canon Mac sports fans who are familiar with this topic, they'll wistfully talk about the "The CM Stadium Project That Might Have Been" - just like Pitt fans talk about the on-campus stadium that might've been.

 

[mike412]

I mean that is the most awesome structure, along with setting, it looks like something that belongs in Quebec or Montreal or Europe.

Thats what it was designed as. A classical grand hotel in the French or Swiss alps.

The inside, by the way, is totally different. In 2006, they basically gutted the Inside and rebuilt it completely, leaving the outside alone. They spent $108 million just on the inside. I don’t think they ever considered tearing it down, which would have been cheaper. That idea probably could get you run out of town. When we were there 7 years earlier, the classrooms and other rooms were okay. They reminded me of my high school. But they had to upgrade it for seismic safety and they came up with a design where they could make all the structural retrofitting improvements by fitting a new shell on the inside and fastening the exterior to it. Just like gutting a house except there is a new foundation inside the old foundation.

 

[mike412]

Nothing is more ominous or foreboding as having to face the Parkway East and the Squirrel Hill tunnels during morning and evening rush.

For quite a few years when I was a kid, we lived on top of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. If you came from the East, you could see our neighborhood as you approached. My dad refused to drive through them between 7am and 9 pm. He would get off the Parkway at the Swissvale/Edgewood exit and either drive through Swissvale and Swisshelm Park or get onto Braddock Avenue and drive through Edgewood up to Forbes Avenue and take that.

If he wasn’t going home but had to continue on the Parkway West, he would take Forbes all the way to the Boulevard of the Allies and take that back to the Parkway. He had no qualms about going through the Fort Pitt Tunnel but he would not drive through the Squirrel Hill Tunnel between those hours.

 

[HailToPitt725]

One of my favorite high school stadiums is Roosevelt Stadium at Union City HS in New Jersey. Because they were landlocked, they placed the stadium on top of the school. Seats 4-5,000 and has room for football and baseball.

 

[Somerset Panther]

Who has it?

Walnut Heights Point Stadium. Built by same company that built Johnstown Point Stadium with the exact same specs. Old school feel with real grass that can make for muddy uniforms. Cost saving by using nails in locker rooms to hang clothes on.

 

[passedout]

Only been there once - do they still have that siren blaring during every opponents plays? If so, hard pass.

Yes.

There are a lot of nice high school campuses out there these days. You even see beautiful stadiums popping up in districts with little money. Crazy how different it's become. When I was in high school, some teams were playing in glorified cornfields.

I grew up in rural PA and remember playing a game in Berlin PA. When we kicked extra points the ball rolled into the corn. That was in the late 80s though, so maybe it has changed. Agree with most of the Pittsburgh choices. Love North Hills, awesome stadium. People do line the hills while watching their kids play. But it is "invite only", usually just players families. NA and PR is nice. The nicest overall facilities for all sports I think is Seneca Valley. They had a lot of "open" land when they built that school and all their fields for all their sports are laid out kind of nice.

 

[Millerton]

You’re right about South Hills residents always being terrified of Route 28. I don’t really understand that. I drive on 28 often and I always tell people I don’t mind it at all. However, it’s definitely something that people make a big deal about.

I think it’s a little bit like 51 though for people from the North Hills and the Alle-Kiski Valley. I can’t stand 51, but it’s not the end of the world to drive on it. It’s just really ugly. However, from a flow standpoint, it has come a long, long way from where it was 15–20 years ago.

As I said, I don’t really have much reason to go over that way much anymore. However, people treat going there like it’s entering the bowels of hell. It’s not that bad. Have you been to TJ lately? There are a great many really nice homes there. It’s genuinely a lovely place. Go a little further to EF and you’ll see the same thing. Baldwin is lovely too. 51 is ugly, but that area is beautiful.

One phenomenon that I did notice by the time I got the high school was that “up 28 somewhere” they came to junk drawer for any town people weren’t very familiar with.

You would say to someone, “Hey, where the hell is Wilmerding?” They would say, “I think it’s up 28 somewhere.“

“Blawnox? Where is Blawnox?” “It’s up 28 somewhere.”

The other one people would say is, “I think that’s way down by Uniontown.”

LOL! I don’t know why, but they would speculate that it was “up 28 somewhere” or “way down by Uniontown.”

Well, maybe because every single day there is an accident on 28. People fly up the left lane to get in front of 1 more car then just force themselves into the right lane, barely miss hitting cars, and as a result people have to slam on their brakes and end up getting hit from behind. All the while, the person that caused the accident doesn't get hit and just drives away, maybe not realizing what they caused, so they never change their driving habits.

 

[wbrpanther]

Yes.

I grew up in rural PA and remember playing a game in Berlin PA. When we kicked extra points the ball rolled into the corn. That was in the late 80s though, so maybe it has changed. Agree with most of the Pittsburgh choices. Love North Hills, awesome stadium. People do line the hills while watching their kids play. But it is "invite only", usually just players families. NA and PR is nice. The nicest overall facilities for all sports I think is Seneca Valley. They had a lot of "open" land when they built that school and all their fields for all their sports are laid out kind of nice.

What do you mean rural. They redid Berlin's field around 15 years ago or so. Built a nice restroom/concession area in the end zone about 20 feet higher than the field. Nice place to stand and watch the game. Nice fencing all around. And when you kick an extra point at the opposite end, it still flies into that same cornfield.

 

[pittchagg]

Yes.

I grew up in rural PA and remember playing a game in Berlin PA. When we kicked extra points the ball rolled into the corn. That was in the late 80s though, so maybe it has changed. Agree with most of the Pittsburgh choices. Love North Hills, awesome stadium. People do line the hills while watching their kids play. But it is "invite only", usually just players families. NA and PR is nice. The nicest overall facilities for all sports I think is Seneca Valley. They had a lot of "open" land when they built that school and all their fields for all their sports are laid out kind of nice.

I played a game once at Spring Grove in York County at a stadium that was absolutely horrendous. We’re talking lights on old telephone poles 5 feet away from the sideline, and the whole place smelled weird because it was next to a paper mill.

I looked recently and they built a whole new high school with a beautiful new football stadium. This is a pretty small, very rural school district, probably halfway between York and Gettysburg. I have no idea how they came up with the money.

 

[PharMorNightStocker]

I played a game once at Spring Grove in York County at a stadium that was absolutely horrendous. We’re talking lights on old telephone poles 5 feet away from the sideline, and the whole place smelled weird because it was next to a paper mill.

I looked recently and they built a whole new high school with a beautiful new football stadium. This is a pretty small, very rural school district, probably halfway between York and Gettysburg. I have no idea how they came up with the money.

Yeah, it's wild. Forest Hills has a really nice "campus" in (mostly) impoverished little Cambria County. I thought the same thing when I saw that.

And I was at Brentwood's stadium in Allegheny County... I didn't think they had any money, but they've got a pretty nice stadium and baseball/softball complex.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

Who has it?

North Hills

 

[animus1981]

I'm more impartial to small schools, since I'm a Clairton guy. I liked Fort Cherry, Char Houston, Monessen, as well as Clairton's field. Deer Lakes had one weird way of keeping in the fog. The Clairton state playoff game there felt like a scene from any King Arthur movie.

 

[pittchagg]

I know I keep getting away from the WPIAL, but Gettysburg was a fun one, too. Old little stadium, but right on the southeast edge of town, and on a chilly October night, the wind really blows off the adjacent battlefield right through the stadium, and the drums from the drumline gives the whole place an eerie feel.

 

[Somerset Panther]

Yes.

I grew up in rural PA and remember playing a game in Berlin PA. When we kicked extra points the ball rolled into the corn. That was in the late 80s though, so maybe it has changed. Agree with most of the Pittsburgh choices. Love North Hills, awesome stadium. People do line the hills while watching their kids play. But it is "invite only", usually just players families. NA and PR is nice. The nicest overall facilities for all sports I think is Seneca Valley. They had a lot of "open" land when they built that school and all their fields for all their sports are laid out kind of nice.

No still same stadium surrounded by corn fields. Berlin has been quite good in most sports. Great football. Decent hoops. Really good wrestling. Think girls were state champs in volleyball or hoops couple years back.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

North Hills

beautiful stadium but someone told me once that the boosters there aren't allowed to run the concessions and that the district runs it and keeps the money. I thought that was kind of odd and not fair to the parents/boosters and was wondering if any other districts have that kind of arrangement.

 

[passedout]

What do you mean rural. They redid Berlin's field around 15 years ago or so. Built a nice restroom/concession area in the end zone about 20 feet higher than the field. Nice place to stand and watch the game. Nice fencing all around. And when you kick an extra point at the opposite end, it still flies into that same cornfield.

That potato chip money just rollin in! I got to get back to catch a game this year.