Historic Hinchliffe Stadium, Still Not Ready, Postpones Opening Events

Hinchliffe Stadium, North Jersey’s rehabilitated Negro Leagues ballpark, won’t be ready for its opener May 7.

With the artificial turf unfinished, five high school games included in the Johnny Briggs Classic – named for a former major-leaguer who lived in Paterson – have been moved to nearby William Paterson University.

Cost overruns have dogged the Hinchliffe project, originally projected at $94 million when unveiled two years ago. Rainy spring weather has also contributed to construction delays.

The State of New Jersey has found funds to help. It provided an extra $8 million four months ago and this week added another $2 million, funneling federal pandemic relief funds into the planned museum at Hinchliffe.

The final price-tag of the project, which also embraces a 75-unit apartment building and 315-space parking garage, could top $105 million – exceeding by 11.7% the original 2021 projection. The final total depends upon dollars spent on the exhibition space as well as the food court.

Projected as the 2023 home of the Jersey Jackals, a Frontier League team that had been playing home games on a Little Falls field behind the Yogi Berra Museum, Hinchliffe is also expected to host concerts, shows, and exhibitions as well as sporting events.

The facility should be finished for the scheduled May 20 opener of the Jackals.

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh has long touted Hinchliffe as a hidden gem in his plan to revitalize the city, once an industrial hub that was the center of the country’s silk production. The ballpark, built in 1932, is a short walk from the Paterson Great Falls, a National Historic Park that once provided hydroelectric power used by local industry.

“This development is another watershed moment for the City of Paterson and one that will surely act as a catalyst for new expansion, entertainment, and jobs in the area,” Sayegh said.

Once the home of the New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans, Hinchliffe also housed the Newark Eagles and the 1933 Negro Leagues All-Star Game. Stars who played there included Larry Doby Sr., who was raised in Paterson before becoming the first black player in the American League and the second black manager in the majors.

Hinchliffe is one of four surviving ballparks from the Negro Leagues, which slowly disbanded after Jackie Robinson broke the major-league color line in 1947. The others are Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL; Hamtramck Stadium in Detroit; and J.P. Small Park in Jacksonville.

A National Historic Landmark since 2013, Hinchliffe was owned by the City of Paterson before the local school district took it over in 1963 as a venue for high school sports. Its reopening could lead to a revival of the traditional Thanksgiving football game between Paterson East Side, which Doby attended, and Paterson Central.

Mayor Sayegh hopes for much more, perhaps including an annual major-league game between the New York Mets and New York Yankees, who have legions of fans in the area.

The site has come a long way from the hulking wreck that had weeds sprouting from the bleachers, crumbling concrete, and cracked asphalt covering the diamond where Doby and nearly a dozen other future Hall of Famers once played.

Seating capacity has been cut from the original 10,000 to 7,800 but dugouts, clubhouses, lights, concession stands, seating bowl improvements, and a myriad of other upgrades have turned blight into beauty – just as the mayor and developer Baye Adofo-Wilson had envisioned.

Jackals owner Al Dorso, a Paterson native, has a vision too: he hopes Hinchliffe will be used not only for his team’s 48 home games but also for shows, exhibitions, concerts, and a wide variety of sporting events, including high school football.

“This is a great opportunity at the right time in my life to give back and add to the rich history of this region,” he said.

Because the Paterson school system still controls the property during its 180-day calendar, the Jackals had to avoid conflicts with high school sports when scheduling their games. Should the professional team reach the Frontier League playoffs, that could require some fancy footwork this fall.