In 2001, a 16-member "baseball exploratory committee" led by Leo Trich, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, helped form a nonprofit group named Ballpark Scholarships Inc. to build a $5.8 million ($ million today) stadium in Washington County. $2 million of the cost of the stadium came in form of taxpayer assistance, while the rest was funded privately. A large amount of the private financing needed to build the stadium came from a local businessman, Angelo F. Falconi. The Wild Things made their debut on May 25, 2002 at Falconi Field for an exhibition game against the Johnstown Johnnies.