Wow, what an amazing night at FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday. This was truly an Opening Night that fans will remember for a lifetime. Everything that took place tonight was memorable.

From the minute the day began, things were really falling into place nicely. The staff put the finishing touches on some of the signange around the ballpark, and this place was more than ready to open at 3:50 p.m. Media members were here all day — lots of great coverage!

WFMZ 69 NEWS was amazing. They trully did an awesome job capturing everything. The Reading Eagle was outstanding as well. They were here early and took some great pictures for the commerative poster, which we handed out in the SAME NIGHT! That was amazing. Great job by everyone at the Reading Eagle.

Thanks to all of the other great reporters and photographers, who came out and got some great stuff as well. The Pottsville Republican-Herald, Pottstown Mercury, and many more.

Service Electric also did an amazing job capturing everything. Great coverage as usual from them!

It was a long offseason, but it was all worth it — every second of it! Fans began lining up early today and just seeing the expressions on their faces, meant that the renovations were a success!  So many happy faces and so many fans excited about the new season.

Also, as part of the evening, there were many fans waiting to get their hands on the Ryan Howard Garden Gnomes — and at the end of the day, 3,500 adults received the instant collectible. And, one lucky fan won the Life-Size version — amazing!

A few more things that fans will always remember about Opening Night 2011 — the awesome commerative Reading Eagle poster, the Dance Team poster, and great performance by the Dance Team, live ostriches — yes real live ostriches, the press box window shattering after being hit by a foul ball, and the return of baseball in Baseballtown — perhaps the greatest place to play. Wow — what a night!

And, here are some photos from the evening. Enjoy!