Everyone knows that the Monarchs' home field, Anderson Yards, is the nicest ballpark in the city. Youth teams from across the city and region relish the opportunity to come to South Philly to play the Monarchs, and we receive amazing feedback from visiting players, coaches, and parents.
The vast majority of the credit for the field's appeal goes to Steve Bandura, who spends upwards of eight hours a week raking and pounding dirt, cutting and watering grass, painting bases, laying down chalk lines, and generally tending to every last detail that separates Anderson Yards from your run-of-the-mill youth field.
Each season before opening day, though, the entire Monarchs family shows up to help Steve get the field ready for the season. This year our annual field prep day coincided with the City of Philadelphia's Spring Cleaning on April 14th. Over the course of the day more than 60 Monarchs players and parents got their hands dirty on the field and adjacent playground, joining up with neighbors and other community groups to make the recreation center shine.
Thanks to all the players and families who showed up to clean up!