Skylands Park
Encyclopedia
CenturyLink Field at Skylands Park is a baseball
stadium
located in Augusta
, New Jersey
. Skylands Park opened in 1994 and was built for the New Jersey Cardinals
, the New York-Penn League affiliate for the St. Louis Cardinals
. The Cardinals called the park home until 2005, after which the team was sold and moved. The Cardinals were replaced by the Sussex Skyhawks
, an independent minor league team that began play in 2006 and folded after the 2010 season. Skylands Park also served as the home field for several other sports organizations. As of July 2011, no professional baseball team currently uses Skylands Park.
In May 2010, telecommunications company CenturyLink
bought naming rights to Skylands Park. There is an official seating capacity
of 4,200.
for a new minor league ballpark. The Hamilton Redbirds
, the Cardinals' New York-Penn League affiliate, were in a transition to move out of their home in Hamilton, Ontario
to Augusta, New Jersey and had temporarily spent the 1993 season in Glens Falls, New York
as the Glens Falls Redbirds. As part of the move, the team was to change its name to the Cardinals. The winter of 1994 brought the worst weather in several years to North Jersey
, but the new ballpark managed to open on time that June and the Cardinals moved in. The stadium's luxury boxes were not completed until the following year.
The park is designed to look a little bit like a farm complex from the outside. Augusta has long been the home of dairy farms, and the Cardinals wanted to make their stadium blend in.
The Cardinals called Skylands Park home from 1994
to 2005
. After the season the team was sold to an new ownership group based in University Park, Pennsylvania
, home of Penn State University
, and were relocated there to become known as the State College Spikes
; the team is no longer affiliated with the Cardinals and is instead affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates
.
In 1998, Skylands Park was designated the home field for the New Jersey Diamonds of the Ladies Professional Baseball League
, a league for women that began play the previous year. However, the Diamonds played only eight home games before the league folded.
In 1999
, the field hosted several games for the Newark Bears
of the independent Atlantic League
, prior to the completion of their new home, Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. Skylands Park also hosted the Sussex County Colonels of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League
, a collegiate summer baseball league, for several seasons.
On January 10, 2006, it was announced that Skylands Park would be the home to the newly named profesional baseball team called the Sussex Skyhawks
of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
. On May 29, 2006, the Skyhawks played their first regular season game at Skylands Park, dropping an 18-11 decision to the North Shore Spirit
. In early January of 2011, it was announced that the Sussex Skyhawks would not be returning for the 2011 season, and it is unsure as to whether any team will call Skylands Park home for the 2011 season, although there have been discussions.
The New Jersey Stags, a Semi-Pro Football team in the BNEFF played their inaugural 2010 season at the ballpark. But in May of 2011, the Stags announced that they will not play at Skylands anymore, and will instead use Macerino Stadium at Vernon Township High School
for the 2011 season.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in Augusta
Augusta, New Jersey
Augusta is an unincorporated area located within Frankford Township, Sussex County, New Jersey.Augusta is the home of the New Jersey State Fair and the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Skylands Park opened in 1994 and was built for the New Jersey Cardinals
New Jersey Cardinals
The New Jersey Cardinals were a Short-Season A minor league baseball team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. They were a member of the New York - Penn League and played at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey from 1994-2005.-History:...
, the New York-Penn League affiliate for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
. The Cardinals called the park home until 2005, after which the team was sold and moved. The Cardinals were replaced by the Sussex Skyhawks
Sussex Skyhawks
The Sussex Skyhawks were a professional baseball team that played at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey. The team was part of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent minor baseball league also referred to as the Can-Am League, from their inaugural season in 2006...
, an independent minor league team that began play in 2006 and folded after the 2010 season. Skylands Park also served as the home field for several other sports organizations. As of July 2011, no professional baseball team currently uses Skylands Park.
In May 2010, telecommunications company CenturyLink
CenturyLink
CenturyLink, Inc. is a United States telecommunications firm, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. The company, founded as Central Telephone & Electronics Corporation in 1968, later changed its name to Century Telephone Enterprises, Inc. in 1971, and then was called CenturyTel, Inc. from 1999 to 2010...
bought naming rights to Skylands Park. There is an official seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 4,200.
History
Ground was broken in the fall of 19931993 in sports
1993 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg** Women's overall season champion: Anita Wachter, Austria-American football:...
for a new minor league ballpark. The Hamilton Redbirds
Hamilton Redbirds
The Hamilton Redbirds were a minor league baseball team that played in the New York-Penn League from 1988 to 1992. They were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals and played their home games at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario. The Redbirds were founded in 1988, but the...
, the Cardinals' New York-Penn League affiliate, were in a transition to move out of their home in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
to Augusta, New Jersey and had temporarily spent the 1993 season in Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
as the Glens Falls Redbirds. As part of the move, the team was to change its name to the Cardinals. The winter of 1994 brought the worst weather in several years to North Jersey
North Jersey
North Jersey is a colloquial term, with no precise consensus definition, for the northern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. A straightforward, noncolloquial term for the region is northern New Jersey.- Two-portion approaches :...
, but the new ballpark managed to open on time that June and the Cardinals moved in. The stadium's luxury boxes were not completed until the following year.
The park is designed to look a little bit like a farm complex from the outside. Augusta has long been the home of dairy farms, and the Cardinals wanted to make their stadium blend in.
The Cardinals called Skylands Park home from 1994
1994 in sports
1994 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* January 29 – death of Ulrike Maier , Austrian skier, who broke her neck when she crashed during a World Cup downhill race at Garmisch-Partenkirchen...
to 2005
2005 in sports
2005 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Bode Miller ** Women's overall season champion: Anja Pärson -American football:...
. After the season the team was sold to an new ownership group based in University Park, Pennsylvania
University Park, Pennsylvania
University Park, Pennsylvania is an unincorporated community in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the location of the flagship campus of the Pennsylvania State University....
, home of Penn State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, and were relocated there to become known as the State College Spikes
State College Spikes
The State College Spikes are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the New York – Penn League. The Spikes play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park located on the main campus of Pennsylvania State University located in University Park, Pennsylvania. Medlar Field is...
; the team is no longer affiliated with the Cardinals and is instead affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
.
In 1998, Skylands Park was designated the home field for the New Jersey Diamonds of the Ladies Professional Baseball League
Ladies League Baseball
After the movie "A League of Their Own", a fictional movie based on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, several women's baseball leagues were attempted. The Ladies League Baseball started in 1997 and consisted of four teams. The first four teams in the league were The San Jose...
, a league for women that began play the previous year. However, the Diamonds played only eight home games before the league folded.
In 1999
1999 in sports
1999 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Lasse Kjus, Norway** Women's overall season champion: Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austria-American football:...
, the field hosted several games for the Newark Bears
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
of the independent Atlantic League
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a professional, independent baseball organization located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, especially the greater metropolitan areas of the Northeast megalopolis. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League...
, prior to the completion of their new home, Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. Skylands Park also hosted the Sussex County Colonels of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League
Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League
The Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League is a collegiate summer baseball league operating in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The league has experienced moderate success in having alumni appear in Major League Baseball...
, a collegiate summer baseball league, for several seasons.
On January 10, 2006, it was announced that Skylands Park would be the home to the newly named profesional baseball team called the Sussex Skyhawks
Sussex Skyhawks
The Sussex Skyhawks were a professional baseball team that played at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey. The team was part of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent minor baseball league also referred to as the Can-Am League, from their inaugural season in 2006...
of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a professional, independent baseball league located in the Northeastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is...
. On May 29, 2006, the Skyhawks played their first regular season game at Skylands Park, dropping an 18-11 decision to the North Shore Spirit
North Shore Spirit
The North Shore Spirit was a minor-league baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. The Spirit played in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball , an independent league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or with the Minor League Baseball...
. In early January of 2011, it was announced that the Sussex Skyhawks would not be returning for the 2011 season, and it is unsure as to whether any team will call Skylands Park home for the 2011 season, although there have been discussions.
The New Jersey Stags, a Semi-Pro Football team in the BNEFF played their inaugural 2010 season at the ballpark. But in May of 2011, the Stags announced that they will not play at Skylands anymore, and will instead use Macerino Stadium at Vernon Township High School
Vernon Township High School
Vernon Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Vernon Township, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The school opened in 1975 and is part of the Vernon Township School District. The school has gone through expansions over the year including a new...
for the 2011 season.
External links
- Skylands Park Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
- Sussex Skyhawks official website]
- Skylands Park Review and Photos
- http://www.jerseystags.com/Stags/Home.html