ALLENTOWN For the third time in four years, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are adding new seating to Coca-Cola Park. This time, the new seats will directly impact how the game will be played at the park, because to add the additional 78 seats, the left field fence will be moved in 13-feet to accommodate the new section, known as The Pig Pen.

The new section will have a front row consisting of conventional ballpark style seats and a second row that will have higher, barstool style seats. Both rows will have a ledge in front of the seats for drinks and food and fans will be able to order concessions from wait staff, who will deliver the food to the seats.Moving the fence closer to the plate will make the ballpark, which has been known as more of a pitcher's park, much friendlier for hitters. The distance down the line drops from 336-feet to 323-feet and the height of the fence will also decrease from nine-feet high to six-feet high, allowing for outfielders to attempt to rob hitters of home runs that might otherwise just clear the fence.Since the new design affects the field of play, IronPigs general manager Kurt Landes spoke with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and director of player development Joe Jordan about the change and got their blessing on the new dimensions. The only specification that the Phillies made was that the fence not be less than six-feet high, which the IronPigs never planned on doing. Landes also spoke with Pigs manager Dave Brundage about the idea, giving him a heads-up on the changes at his home field next season."Dave Brundage was excited to hear that the wall is going to be moved in and I think it will provide a little more excitement on the field," said Landes. "Then, to have 78 seats that give fans a real chance to have interaction with our players on the field will be really neat."Landes explained that the IronPigs start to look at new ideas for the ballpark and adding to the fan experience during the season, starting in May or June. That gives Landes and his staff time to brainstorm and decide which ideas are most feasible and would have the greatest impact for fans and allow time for full design work. Initially, there were up to a dozen ideas on ballpark enhancements, but that list was cut down to about six that were deemed the best."When we looked at what we wanted to do with the ballpark, we looked at areas for fixed seats, but we didn't look on the field," said Landes. "We looked at the lawn and around the park and said 'we can do this here and this here.' All of a sudden, we said 'why don't we bring it on the field?' Instead of just looking at the perimeter, when we looked on the field, that opened up a whole new bunch of ideas to think about."The new configuration will go from the left field foul line to the edge of the bullpen in left-center field. At that point, the new fence will curve at the end and angle back to the existing fence in front of the general admission lawn seating area at the ballpark. In addition to the potential for more home runs, that angle could present some unique plays on balls that hit off of that angle and carom either back toward the fence or back toward the infield. Learning how balls will carom off that angle will be part of learning how to play at Coca-Cola Park and could provide a bit of a home field advantage for IronPigs outfielders.The Pig Pen seating will put fans literally between the left fielder and the relievers in the bullpen, who will actually be behind the seating area, but still able to see the field. The IronPigs added the Tiki Terrace and Oasis in left field prior to the 2012 season and the Hot Corner and Bacon Strip seating along the third base line and in right field prior to the 2013 season.Pig Pen seating will initially be made available only to groups of 20 or more for $20 per person, with each ticket including $5 in ballpark credits. Starting March 7 (National Pig Day) the IronPigs will put individual seats on sale for $18 if purchased in advance or $20 on the day of the game. Sales for the new section began yesterday immediately following the announcement.