Sports in South Central Pennsylvania facts for kids
Sports in South Central Pennsylvania are a long-held tradition and culture, such as the professional baseball teams who "barnstormed" their way through Lancaster County's farmland in the early 1900s, to Milton S. Hershey's creation of the Hershey B'ars hockey club in 1932, to canoe races held on the Susquehanna River each summer in Harrisburg. Listed below are some sports teams that are currently based in the region:
| Club | City | Sport | League | Championships | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg Heat | Harrisburg | Indoor soccer | MASL | 0 | New Holland Arena |
| Harrisburg Senators | Harrisburg | Baseball | EL | 6 (1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) | FNB Field |
| Hershey Bears | Hershey | Ice hockey | AHL | 11 (1947, 1958, 1959, 1969, 1974, 1980, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2010) |
Giant Center |
| Hershey FC | Hershey | Soccer | NPSL | 0 | Hershey High School |
| Lancaster Barnstormers | Lancaster | Baseball | ALPB | 2 (2006, 2014) | Clipper Magazine Stadium |
| Lancaster Inferno FC | Lancaster | Women's soccer | UWS | 0 | Crusader Stadium |
| Lancaster Lions | Lititz | Basketball | ABA | 0 | Warwick High School |
| Pennsylvania Classics AC | Landisville | Soccer | NSPL | 0 | Georgelis Law Firm Stadium |
| Red Rose Thunder | Ephrata | Basketball | ABA | 0 | Ephrata Recreation Center |
| York Buccaneers | York | Basketball | ABA | 0 | Voni Grimes Gym |
| York Revolution | York | Baseball | ALPB | 3 (2010, 2011, 2017) | PeoplesBank Park |
Ice hockey
The Hershey Bears, owned by The Hershey Company, represent the entire South Central Pennsylvania region. Started in 1932, the Bears are the oldest member of the American Hockey League, the AAA-level of the North American ice hockey organizational structure. The team is an eleven-time Calder Cup champion, most recently in the 2009-2010 season.
The city of York hosted the IceCats of the North Eastern Hockey League in the 2003-2004 season. The team played at the York City Ice Arena, but moved to St. Catharines, Ontario in 2005. The now defunct Mid-Atlantic Hockey League initially showed interest in placing a team in York, but those efforts never came into fruition.
The Central Penn Panthers of the junior-level North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League play in the city of Lancaster.
Lancaster Classic
Lancaster is home to the Lancaster Classic, a professional road bicycle racing event held each June since 1992. The Classic is part of the 2006-2007 UCI America Tour and the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Tour.
Soccer
Soccer is widely played in the South Central Pennsylvania region, and hosts a professional teams called the Harrisburg City Islanders. The City Islanders play at FNB Field, located on Harrisburg's City Island. Harrisburg also has an indoor soccer team called the Harrisburg Heat that plays their home games at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center and participates in the Professional Arena Soccer League.
The Lancaster Inferno is a professional women's soccer team that is a member of United Women's Soccer.
Field Hockey
In 2013, USA Field Hockey announced their intentions to move its national training center for the United States women's national field hockey team to Lancaster County. They have signed with Spooky Nook Sports through 2022 after searching for many years for a Northeastern site.
Swimming
South Central Pennsylvania produced such Olympic swimmers as Anita Nall and Jeremy Linn of Harrisburg, Leah Gingrich of Enola, Josef Kinderwater of Lancaster, Tricia Weaner of Gettysburg, Whitney Metzler of Dallastown, and Katie Nolan of Hershey.
