Hersheypark Stadium Continues to Drift Away from HS Sports with Hershey Football Decision

“What good is money unless you use it for the benefit of the community and of humanity in general?”. This was a question proposed by Milton Hershey, the iconic founder of Hershey Corporation, known as a selfless man who built the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania with one thing in mind: the people.

While the high school football season begins on Friday, one team will soon change the venue of their football games, as Derry Township School District announced on Facebook that their Hershey football team will be leaving Hersheypark Stadium, potentially as soon as this season.

Derry Township School District claims they received a memorandum of understanding notice on July 29th. The MOU “generously allowed” the school to use Hersheypark Stadium for their home football games, which has been the agreement since 2006. As part of the MOU, it’s understood that the contract can be terminated with three years' notice.

This, of course, means Hershey still has three years on their agreement with Hershey Entertainment and Resorts to stay at the stadium, the school is aiming to play games on the turf on campus this season, specifically to play their September 13 meeting with Mifflin County on campus. The current on-campus field has a full 100-yard field with a track, the school just needs to install additional bleachers to accommodate fans. 

The news comes in a series of changes made by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts to move away from high school sports at Hersheypark Stadium. 

In 2021, PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi reported concerns about hosting PIAA Championship events in Hershey because of the growing rental fees to use the stadium, and the insufficient locker rooms and practice areas. In 2022, the PIAA football championships took place at an event other than Hershey for the first time since 1997, hosted at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field.

Also in 2022, Cumberland Valley’s Eagle View Stadium hosted soccer championships, the first time they were outside of Hershey since 1997 as well. 

Put plainly, Hershey’s accommodations became unsuitable for PIAA Championship events, especially considering that three other venues, Cumberland Valley, Altoona’s Mansion Park, and Penn State’s Beaver Stadium had expressed interest in hosting.

When Milton Hershey began building the tourist town of Hershey, his main goal was to accommodate the people who lived there. Hersheypark was built for children, specifically children of people who worked for Hershey Corporation. HP Stadium was opened in 1939 and since then has hosted a long list of all sorts of events, but that list will continue to shrink and shrink every year as it seems the stadium will be less a sports and event facility and more so just a concert venue.

If there’s anything to learn about sports in Central Pennsylvania, it’s that the people care. The players care, the fans care, the coaches care, and the media cares. While the conditions that Hersheypark Stadium is currently in while hosting high school sports are not extraordinary, it would be nice to say that sporting events at Hersheypark Stadium will not, soon, be a thing of the past.