Hopes Dim for Skylands Park Revival

Carl Barbati, sports editor for the New Jersey Herald, takes a look at the current Skylands Park situation and the hope, or lack thereof, for indy pro ball returning to the stadium any time soon.  He talks about the state of the resuscitated Northern league and futilely (for a second time) brings up the Atlantic League as an option.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

No Skylands Park for Revived Northern League

As the revived indy pro Northern League works to add more markets beyond recently announced Elkhart County (IN), it appears vacant Skylands Park in Sussex County (NJ) will not be part of the league re-launch in 2014.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

Skylands Park Sold

In positive new for the possible return of baseball to Sussex County (NJ), the sale of Skylands Park to Ardmore (PA)-based real estate investment firm 17 Mile LLC indeed closed on Friday, March 15.  The facility sold for $950,000, plus $160,000 in overdue taxes and related fees.  Skylands is the former home of the Single-A New Jersey Cardinals (New York-Penn League) and indy pro Sussex Skyhawks

Skylands Deal to Close Next Thursday, Patriots Chairman Rejects Idea of ABL2 Feeder Circuit

As real estate investment firm 17 Mile LLC looks to close next Friday on a deal to acquire Skylands Park, Steve Kalafer, chairman of the indy pro Somerset Patriots (Atlantic League), firmly dismissed any notion of an ABL feeder team coming Sussex County.  More broadly, according to the New Jersey Herald, Kalafer issued a statement late Thursday saying “there is no value at this

Sale of Skylands Park Postponed, Not Dead

The deal to sell Skylands Park in Sussex County (NJ) to real estate investment firm 17 Mile is apparently not dead after all.  Mark Roscioli, owner of Ardmore (PA)-based 17 Mile, says the closing has been rescheduled for Friday, March 15.   Read more here.

Baseball to Return to Skylands Park

While the deal is not yet finalized, Ardmore (PA)-based 17 Mile LLC plans to buy vacant Skylands Park in Sussex County (NJ) for $950,000.  The group is reportedly in negotiations with two separate baseball outfits to find a team to play at the stadium beginning in 2014.  Read more here.

Middlesex County NJ to Explore Building New Baseball Stadium

During a freeholder meeting last week, Middlesex County (NJ) Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano said the county will explore the possibility of building a new minor-league ballpark in the southern part of the county at no cost to the taxpayers.  The county would model the project after the highly successful indy pro Somerset Patriots (Atlantic League).  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

Skylands Park on the Auction Block

Skylands Park, the former home of the indy pro Sussex SkyHawks (Can-Am League) and Single-A New Jersey Cardinals (New York-Penn League), is going up for auction on Wednesday, Dec. 12, to satisfy a $57,277.43 tax lien placed on the property by Frankford Township.  We assume Millennium Sports Management, the owner of the ballpark, could still

Yogi Berra Gets a Street

The city of Montclair (NJ) has honored Hall of Famer Yogi Berra with his own street…sort of.  A sign reading Yogi Berra Way has been added to Edgewood Terrace, which is an honorary rather than legal name change for the street.  Read more here.  View a photo of street sign here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the news.

Moment in Time Has Passed for Cliff Hawks

It appears that the near-decade-long dream run for the proposed indy pro Bergen Cliff Hawks (Atlantic League) has come to an official end, as Tony Armlin, an executive for the American Dream Meadowlands (formerly Xanadu) project, stated that “there is approved to be – but never will be – a minor league baseball park.”  Read more here.

Skylands Park Owner Challenges Property Valuation, Tax Assessment

Millennium Sports Management, the owner and operator of teamless Skylands Park in Sussex County (NJ), has filed a property tax appeal challenging the county’s $125,207 tax assessment on the property based on a valuation of $6.7 million.  Millenium paid a whopping $121,503 in 2010.

A Development Vision for Skylands Park Area

Planners for the area surrounding Skylands Park in Augusta (NJ), former home for the Can-Am League’s defunct Sussex Skyhawks, presented a 20-year vision statement for the area on Wednesday during a joint meeting of the Frankford Township Committee, Land Use Board and Frankford Plan Endorsement Advisory Committee.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

Governer Promotes NJ Baseball Teams

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is promoting the six minor league baseball teams in New Jersey via the state’s official website.  Now this is the type of elected representation we like to see!  View website here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

Great Adventure Stadium: Catalyst for Minor League Baseball in Jersey?

On June 20, 1989, Six Flags in Jackson Township (NJ) announced that it planned to build a new 20,000 seat stadium for a Double-A or Triple-A team.  Great Adventure Stadium, as it was to be called, was never built, but at least one newspaper columnist believes that it was the catalyst for eight minor league teams eventually making New Jersey

New Jersey: The State of Baseball

New Jersey has come along way in the baseball revival world over the past two decades.  We haven’t personally done the math, but it looks like folks in the Garden State can lay claim to having the most minor league and indy pro baseball teams per square mile than any other state, and some believe there is room for a few more.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the article.