That Time a Pro Hockey Team Used a Baseball Stadium as Their Home Arena (Quick Hit #2)

Welcome to Quick Hit! Here I will talk about small bits of news, history, and other things from across minor professional hockey!

We likely all know about how the NHL loves doing games at outdoor stadiums nowadays, but what if I told you that for a short period of time, there was a professional hockey team who played full-time on a baseball field?

In 2012, when the Federal Hockey League had only completed its 2nd season, the recent FHL champion New Jersey Outlaws announced they were moving to Williamsport, PA for the upcoming 2012-2013 season.

However, there was a problem, as there was no ice arena in Williamsport to speak of. Williamsport is known by many as the place where the Little League World Series is held, making the site quite historical in the world of baseball, but unheard of in the hockey-sphere. Well, it was a move for the future as there were plans to build an arena for the team. So the team didn't have an arena, but they did have access to a baseball field and a portable refrigeration system...

Panoramic view of Airmen Pond at Bowman Field

Thus, began the start of the Williamsport Outlaws playing at Airmen Pond at Bowman Field. Pictures during home games feel a little surreal, seeing a low-minor professional hockey team playing every home game outside. The team and its attendance during the 2012-2013 season weren't actually as bad as one might expect. The team held a 22-16-3 record and averaged 1,069 through 27 home games at Airmen Pond.

Alas though, as on January 21st of 2013, the Williamsport Outlaws ceased operations, as the owner, Kristin Ann Rooney, Esq. refused to play the remaining road games on the teams' schedule. The team was taken over by the league the following month and rebranded as the Pennsylvania Blues, becoming a traveling road team to finish out the rest of the season

Thus ended the brief, yet fascinating time that minor pro hockey went out to the ballgame.

-The Prospector