The incoming owners of Skylands Park, the former home to affiliated and indy ball in Sussex County (N.J.), say baseball will be back at the shuttered ballpark in 2014.
17 Mile LLC is set to close on a deal to buy the ballpark for $950,000 (confirming our story on Dec. 13 on the sale price, when we reported a purchase price of around $1 million) from Millennium Sports Management. Not a surprise: the sale has been in the works for months, and it was pretty clear that Millennium was willing to take any reasonable deal to walk away from the ballpark originally built for $9.5 million. 17 Mile LLC is a Pennsylvania real estate investment firm, and officials there say they’re ready to prep the ballpark for play in 2014.
And, as we’ve reported, the most serious play for 17 Mile LLC would be with the independent Atlantic League, which is setting up a feeder league for 2014. The league, ALPB2, isn’t a secret (we’ve reported on it several times), and it’s envisioned as a more modest endeavor than the flagship Atlantic League: lower operating cost, smaller markets, and younger players. Worcester (Mass.) and Atlantic City have already been discussed as potential homes for ALPB2 teams, in addition to Skylands Park.
In the past the 4,200-seat ballpark was home to the New Jersey Cardinals (short season A; NY-Penn League) and the Sussex SkyHawks (independent; Can-Am League).
Photo by Mark Cryani.
RELATED STORIES: Skyland Park debt sold; Atlantic League interested in placing team there; Future of Skylands Park in play; Atlantic League: Big plans for 2014 and beyond; Skylands Park on block; baseball unlikely for 2012; Taxes becoming huge issue for Skylands Park; Skyhawks to go dark?
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