After 50 years as the site of the Little League World Series finals, time had begun to take its toll on the Howard J. Lamade Stadium. To correct the many years of weather damage, Penetron was used to make critical repairs to areas such as the dugouts for the championship teams.
On August 30, 2009, at the Howard J. Lamade Stadium, Team Chula Vista overpowered Team Chinese-Tapei in a 6 - 3 victory to capture the title of Little League World Series Champions.
Little League International is the largest youth sport organization in the world with over 2.6 million participants in over 100 countries supported by over 1.5 million adult volunteers and with 200 international youth teams competing. The Howard J. Lamade Stadium is the centerpiece of their headquarters and has been the home of the Little League World Series finals for over 50 years. Playing at the Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA is the "big" dream of every Little League baseball team in the world.
The Stadium was named after Howard J. Lamade, a successful publisher of "Grit" magazine (a rural lifestyle magazine still in existence today). Lamade was also top executive with Little League Baseball and was instrumental in building it into a national institution that has since grown into an international institution.
Since its initial construction in 1959, Lamade Stadium has evolved from a ball field to a Baseball Complex with a seating capacity of 40,000. However, 50 years of exposure to the elements will eventually take its toll. Penetron Admix was included in a recent reconstruction project at the stadium for its ability to waterproof and protect concrete. The existing wall that served to separate the elevation difference from the stadium seating to the world famous dugouts had deteriorated due to water infiltration and successive freeze thaw scaling and damage. The wall supported the concourse walkway to seating and was covered by a protective matting/ dugout wall mats to protect the players from the badly damaged concrete.
The existing concourse slab itself had previously been repaired with an emulsion type coating but the coating had lifted and the slab was also spalling badly as a result of aggressive freeze thaw action. The project team of Brinjac Engineering, Zartman Construction and Centre Concrete worked together to redesign and replace the existing wall with a new Penetron Admix treated wall and new entrance slabs. The concourse was also widened and new curb and drainage was constructed to minimize flooding of the field from the water in the stands. Additionally, drainage was improved to provide safer and easier access to stadium seating.
"We are honored to have been involved in keeping alive the tradition of such a long standing athletic institution," stated Christopher Chen, Director of North American Sales & Marketing for ICS Penetron. "As a company with a wide international presence, we are keenly aware that understanding, communicating and working with diverse nations, peoples and cultures is critical to our success. Involvement with organizations such as Little League International, reminds us of how important these basic connections are and how much can be achieved by observing them in all that we do."
Howard Lamade Stadium
