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FAST FACTS
Opened: 1994
Capacity: 4,300
Dimensions: 330L, 392C, 330R
Architect: Lescher & Mahoney Architects
Current Team: Sussex Skyhawks (independent; Can-Am Association)
Phone: 973/300-1000
Website: sussexskyhawks.com
Ticket Prices: $12 Box, $10 Reserved, $8 G.A.
Prior Tenant: New Jersey Cardinals (short season; New York-Penn League), 1994-2005
Address: 94 Championship Place, Augusta, New Jersey 07822; “Ross’ Corner” at U.S. Highway 206 and County Route 565.
Directions: From I-80, take Route 15 North, follow signs as 15 runs into 206 North. Turn right onto Route 565 at the Chatterbox Restaurant. Ballpark will be on your left From I-84, take Route Route 6 South to Route 206 South, turn left at Chatterbox.
Text and photos by: Mark Cryan
Welcome to the middle of nowhere. Sussex County, New Jersey, is tucked away in the northern tip of the state near the New York state line. It s not Bruce Springsteen’s gritty urban Jersey, but rather rolling hills and pastures. The ballpark, the former home of the New Jersey Cardinals, sits at the crossroads of NJ Routes 206 and 565, in sight of a pair of restaurants and a barn or two. This part of New Jersey is called the Skylands, and it fits, as there is little to distract you from the wide-open vistas. There are several picturesque little towns on the way to the park, although none is close enough or large enough to really be the team’s home own. Hence, the “New Jersey,” and now “Sussex” names.
Perhaps inspired by the setting, the ballpark’s architectural theme is a barn look. It’s simple, attractive and appropriate. This park opened in 1994 as the new home of the relocated Glens Falls (NY) Redbirds, and I had the chance to attend a playoff game there between the Cardinals and the visiting Jamestown Jammers, a Detroit Tigers affiliate at that time. When Skylands Park first opened, the folks in the area were thrilled to have a team to call their own. In a place that has always been overshadowed by the New York City sports scene, this northern New Jersey’s own Major League-affiliated professional baseball team, and at the time, one of only two minor-league teams in the entire state.
Despite being located less than sixty miles from midtown Manhattan, the Cardinals were a smash hit, leading the league with announced attendance of 156,477 in 1994. Over 38 scheduled home games, that’s an average of well over 4,000 per night, roughly the capacity of the facility. They even made the playoffs for good measure, and won the league title to complete a fairy-tale first season.
It’s worth remembering the context of the New York-Penn League at that time. The previous year, the league’s top two draws were, ironically, the Glens Falls Redbirds at 78,725, and the Utica Blue Sox at 77,645. (As Ken Brett said in his famous Lite Beer ad, “Utica?!”) Most of the other teams in the league didn’t break 50,000 in ’93, but the ’94 season was a watershed year, as teams playing in three new markets led the league in attendance (NJ, Hudson Valley and Vermont). And Hudson Valley and New Jersey were the Dodgers and Giants of short-season A ball, making the leap together into the outskirts of the nation’s biggest city in a move that defied the conventional wisdom of the time. (Keep an eye out for a write up on Hudson Valley, coming soon.)
I distinctly remember that even at the end of that inaugural season, the park had an unfinished look, with plywood covering the front of some of the skyboxes and insulation peeking out of several spots in the press box area and the outlying buildings. This was a result of the stadium corporation going bankrupt during construction (more on that below). Fourteen years later, the park is in very good condition, and is a great example of what was considered state-of-the-art at the time still provides a very pleasant setting for a game.
The Ballpark Park...or Barn Park?As you approach, the stadium rises up in front of you, with SKYLANDS PARK clearly spelled out on the understated façade. There is attractive landscaping, an inviting outer plaza, and light towers reaching for the sky.
After passing through the gates and entering the seating bowl, there are six rows of “Box Seats” below the center walkway running the length of the grandstand, and about a dozen rows of “Reserved Seats” above. The upper reserved sections are fold down seats just like the box seats, except for bench-style “Reserved General Admission” at the far ends of the grandstand.
Luxury boxes, with sliding glass doors and two rows of outdoor seats below, line the top of the first base side of the grandstand, with an overhanging metal roof that carries on the barn theme. The facing of the luxury boxes is, of course, barn-red metal. While there is not a full-blown roof, there is a substantial overhang over the press box and center sections of the park. Combined with the small overhang down the first base line, this overhang gives the park a nice sheltered feeling.
In case of bad weather, there is also plenty of space below the seating bowl in a wide concourse running from end to end. Of course, this was the standard when this park was built. It’s certainly less functional than today’s standard, a sunken seating bowl with a covered concourse overlooking the field. You have to take a break from the action here if you want to hit the concessions stands, which are located underneath the seats on the concourse.
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