Is Mansion Park really that bad?

It's been called the place where Mid-Penn Conference teams go to die.

Altoona's Mansion Park Stadium has garnered that reputation not only because it was tough to beat the host Mountain Lions during the season when they were members of the WPIAL but because of what happened to Mid-Penn teams in the very game that Mansion hosts this afternoon.

Since 2004 when the PIAA moved the District 3 Class AAAA champion to the west, the conference is 0-4 in PIAA semifinal games at Mansion. That will change today becuase both Cumberland Valley (12-2) and State College (11-2) are members of the Mid-Penn. It must be noted, however, that State College is located in District 6 and only a charter member of the Mid-Penn for football only.

But, really, Mansion Park hasn't been that bad to Sentinel-area teams. Cumberland Valley knocked off Upper St. Clair, 28-12, for the 1992 PIAA Class AAAA title at Mansion Park. The victory remain's CV's only state title in football.

In 2004, Camp Hill ventured to Mansion Park and beat District 6 champion Bellwood-Antis, 27-14, in a PIAA Class A quarterfinal, which makes area teams 2-0 at the Blair County venue in state playoff games.