Jerry Uht Park has been the home of the Erie SeaWolves since day one. Ground was broken on the ballpark in the summer of 1994 so that it could be ready for the SeaWolves inaugural game in 1995. Originally a member of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League, the ‘Wolves won their first game in style with a walk-off home run by future MLBer Jose Guillen. When the team moved up to the Eastern League, they remained in the ballpark, although it would get a number of upgrades over the coming years.
The ballpark is located in downtown Erie, and like Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing, Michigan, Jerry Uht Park takes up one city block. The park has a seating capacity of 4,109 and can accommodate an additional 1,891 fans in the group picnic and standing room only areas, bringing the total capacity to 6,000. The park is the smallest in the Eastern League, just behind Binghamton’s NYSEG Stadium (6,012) and New Britain’s New Britain Stadium (6,146). Jerry Uht Park is named after Erie philanthropist Jerry Uht, who was instrumental in bringing the ballpark to downtown Erie.
The pavilion in front of Jerry Uht Park is rather nondescript, as is the area surrounding the park. Inside, the park has several notable features, including the home run deck behind the left field fence, a large, two-level picnic area and more. The home run deck separates Jerry Uht Park from the Erie County Convention Center Complex. The building includes the Louis J. Tullio Arena, home of the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters.
Erie’s ballpark has seen a number of upgrades throughout its history, including the installation of a modern video board and the two-level group picnic area along the first base side added in 2007.
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