If you build it, they will come. If you entertain, they will continue to come. In just three seasons, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs have drawn well over 1.2 million fans to Coca-Cola Park in East Allentown, and it has become the Lehigh Valley’s place for affordable family entertainment.

The IronPigs have quickly built a fun-for-all reputation with their quirky in-game contests and giveaways with every pork pun imaginable, ranging from racing pork product characters, a kid’s piglet race, ketchup and mustard T-shirt launchers, the crazy antics of fan favorite mascots FeRROUS and FeFe (Fe is the atomic symbol for Iron), and a dancing grounds crew, just to name a few.

Its proximity to Philadelphia is not the only thing that the IronPigs have in common with their parent club, the Philadelphia Phillies. Since the 2008 inaugural season, more than 20 IronPigs players have been called up to the Phillies, or have appeared at Coca-Cola Park for an assigned rehab appearance. Notable players that have worn a ‘Pigs uniform in just two seasons include Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Raul Ibanez, J.A. Happ, Chad Durbin, Pedro Feliz, Kyle Kendrick, Pedro Martinez Brett Meyers, J.C. Romero, and Rudy Seanez.

What once was an industrial landscape is now a beautiful 50 million dollar ballpark with a capacity of 10,000 people. In 2008, Coca-Cola Park was named Ballpark of the Year by Ballpark Digest, and during the 2009 season, the IronPigs were second in all of Minor League Baseball for attendance with 641,335 fans passing through the gates. In the first two seasons, the team has averaged 8,818 per game, a number that significantly surpasses Coca-Cola Park’s fixed seating capacity of 8,089. Every seat in the ballpark has been sold for 77 percent of all regular season games including a staggering 26 consecutive contests with 37 all-time capacity crowds of 10,000.