Return of the Bears

The main entrance to Newark’s Riverfront Stadium, Jul-2002.

Looking from the third-base picnic area toward the plate and the Newark skyline.

The field overlooks a railroad bridge; off in the distance, but not visible here, are New York skyscrapers.

• Location: Broad and Orange streets, Newark, N.J.
• Opened: 1999 as Riverfront Stadium
• Additional names: Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium (2002)
• Home team: Newark Bears, Atlantic League (1999-present); New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders, NCAA Division I Independent; Rutgers University-Newark Scarlet Raiders, New Jersey Athletic Conference
• Capacity: 5,799

Rating: 3 baseballs

Finally, in 1998, the independent Atlantic League announced plans to put one of their teams in Newark. The trouble was, no one was quite sure where the park would end up. Several sites along the Passaic River were discussed and ultimately rejected.

In the end, the park landed in the shadow of the Lackawanna tracks, near the Broad Street station, in such a way that home runs clearing the outfield wall could land on McCarter Highway (NJ 21). After construction delays, the still-incomplete park opened for business in July 1999. During 2000, an additional screen had to be erected in left field to protect motorists from blasts by slugger Ozzie Canseco.

The seating is fairly typical, although the designers did angle the farthest seats toward home plate, a nice touch. Concessions are reasonable. Parking in area lots is expensive, but on-street spaces can be had on most evenings as meters do not operate after 6:00.

Effective with the extension of the Newark City Subway past the park in 2006, many of the on-street spaces have been removed. However, fans arriving in Newark on the Northeast Corridor line can take this shuttle train to the park.