Miners Hold Exhibition Game Before Inaugural Home Opener on Memorial Day

Saturday’s game between the Sussex County Miners and the New Jersey Jackals (Indy Pro, Can-Am League) was just an exhibition, but it was the first time since the Sussex Skyhawks (Indy Pro, Can-Am League) closed up shop in 2011 that professional baseball players took the field at Skylands Stadium.  The team’s first home game will be on Memorial Day, May 25, at 7:05 p.m.  Read more here.

Still No Franchise for Skylands, But Bring on the Scare

The new owners of Skylands Park in Augusta (NJ), the former home of the Sussex Skyhawks (Can-Am League) and Single-A New Jersey Cardinals (New York-Penn League), have temporarily transformed their idle stadium into “Scareland Stadium,” an interactive haunted attraction that opens for Halloween-season recreation the first weekend of October.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the news.

Events Beyond Baseball Targeted for Skylands Park

As one of the new owners of Skylands Park in Sussex County (NJ), Al Dorso Jr. knows he’s going to need more than just baseball to keep the place afloat.  While baseball is expected to be part of the stadium’s future, Dorso and his partners are working with Fastlane Communications, a New York City marketing firm, to develop events geared toward families and young people.  Read more here.

Group Buying Skylands Park, Baseball Possible in 2015 (UPDATED)

Al Dorso Sr., president of the State Fair Meadowlands, said Wednesday that he is heading up a team of six investors purchasing vacant Skylands Park baseball stadium in Augusta (NJ).  One of the investors is Nick Corrado, owner of a shopping mall and cousin of the late actor James Gandolfini.  Dorso hopes to attract a minor league baseball team by the 2015 season.  Read more here.  UPDATE:  Stadium sold for $850,000.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the links.

New Owner of Skylands Explores Options, Lower Annual Property Tax Bill Should Help

Mark Roscioli Jr., owner of real estate investment firm 17 Mile LLC, continues to explore his options for a primary baseball tenant at Skylands Park after finalizing a deal to purchase the facility for $950,000.  After learning that the park’s annual property tax liability has been lowered from $120,000+ to $30,000, we have more confidence in this effort.  Read more here.  Thanks to Johnny Regan for the story.

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.

Sale of Skylands Park Called Off

After coming to terms earlier this month on the pending transfer of ownership of Skylands Park, the parties to the deal said last Thursday that the sale of the 4,200-seat ballpark, which was scheduled to be  finalized on March 1, is apparently a no go.  Read more here and here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the story.

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.

Investor Now Skylands Lienholder

Matt Milano, a private investor who has no interest in returning baseball to Skylands Park, now holds the tax lien certificate to the vacant stadium after snatching it up for $159,946.23 at today’s auction.  While baseball is not necessary done at the park, it could take a while to sort this one out.  Millennium Sports Management, the stadium’s owner, could still redeem the property for a price within the next

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

Skylands Park to Live Again With New Sewer?

Currently vacant Skylands Park, former home of the defunct indy pro Sussex SkyHawks (Can-Am League) and relocated Single-A New Jersey Cardinals (New York-Penn League), will reportedly be connected to the new sewer system being built in Frankford Township (NJ).  This appears to send a signal that the ballpark will live to fight another day, if a new tenant can be found.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

Still No Solid Future for Skylands Park

Millenium Sports Management Corp. continues to struggle to sell or find a new tenant for 4,200-seat Skylands Park, the former home of the indy pro Sussex Skyhawks (Can-Am League) and Single-A New Jersey Cardinals (New York-Penn League).   Located in rural Frankford Township (NJ), Skylands remains for sale at $1.99 million.   A request to lower the facility’s annual

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.

Sussex Ballpark For Sale

Skylands Park, the 17-year-old stadium owned and operated by Millenium Sports Management, is now for sale.  The pricetag is $1,990,000.  Now, that may not seem like much for a ballpark like Skylands, but the annual property tax bill in Frankford Township (NJ) has been coming in at around $121,000 on an assessed value of $6.7 million.  Review our full report here from January.  Thanks to Brian Merzbach for the news.

New Jersey’s Affiliated Clubs Set Selves Apart from Indy Pros?

Sports marketing and PR guy Joe Favorito compares the success of New Jersey’s affiliated teams (Trenton Thunder and Lakewood Blue Claws), with the state’s challenged indy pro clubs (Newark Bears, New Jersey Jackals, and now-defunct Sussex Skyhawks).  We thinks Joe should have given a little ink to the popular indy pro Somerset Patriots, Camden Riversharks,

Taking Aim at the Can-Am League, Ramapo Ballpark

In a column on NewJerseyNewsRoom.com today, columnist/ pundit/lecturer and author of The Business & Politics of Sports Evan Weiner takes aim at the Ramapo (NY) ballpark project at the expense of the Can-Am League and a few of its teams.  So, did the anti-ballpark group Preserve Ramapo recruit themselves a mercenary?  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

More on the Future of Skylands Park

As ballpark owner/operator Millenium Sports Management continues to search for a new tenant for Skylands Park after the demise of the Can-Am League’s Sussex (Augusta, NJ) Skyhawks, there is concern in Frankford Township about future property tax revenues, should things truly go south for the 17-year-old stadium.

New Suitors for Skylands Park?

Now that the Can-Am League’s Sussex (Augusta, NJ) Skyhawks have called it quits, Millenium Sports Management, the company that owns and operates Skylands Park, is searching for a new tenant.  Apparently Millenium has fielded interest from both the affiliated and indy pro ranks.  Interest in the park could be bolstered by a new town center that is expected to be built at Ross Corner.  Read more here.

Rockland Boulders Accepted into Can-Am League

PRESS RELEASE – The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball announced today that the league will operate as an eight-team circuit for the 2011 season.

Sussex Goes Dark, Ramapo Approved, Travel Team on Deck?

Bob Wirz is reporting that the Can-Am League’s 2011 lineup has been set, with the Sussex (Augusta, NJ) Skyhawks going dark, the approval of the Rockland (Ramapo, NY) Boulders as an expansion franchise, and the addition of a road team called the New York Federals.  Read more here.

Ramapo, Sussex, and the New North American League

The Journal de Quebec recently talked with Can-Am League Commissioner Miles Wolff about the uncertainty surrounding the proposed new team in Ramapo, the endangered status of the Sussex Skyhawks, and the mess out West with the burgeoning North American League.  Read more here.  Use the free translation tool here, if you don’t know French.

‘Stadium Crawl’: Rating the Ballparks in NY, NJ

Joe DeLessio and Will Leitch from the sports pages of New York magazine are on a “stadium crawl” mission to visit and rate a number of minor league ballparks in New York and New Jersey based on five categories, including Facilities, Quality of Play, Promotions, Adorability, and Miscellaneous.  The tour began on April 28 with a visit to the

Skyhawks Rename Field and Add Autograph Booth

PRESS RELEASE – The Sussex Skyhawks are thrilled to announce exciting new additions to Skylands Park for the 2010 season! Effective immediately, the new field name will be CenturyLink Field. The Skyhawks welcome CenturyLink to the community and as a new partner in 2010. Locally, Embarq recently merged with