Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium

Infobox_Baseball_Stadium
stadium_name = Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium
nickname = The Den


location = 450 Broad Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102
broke_ground =
opened =July 16, 1999
closed =
demolished =
owner =
operator = Newark Bears
surface = grass | construction_cost = $30 million
architect =
tenants = Newark Bears (AL) (1998-present)
Rutgers University-Newark baseball (NCAA)
New Jersey Institute of Technology baseball
seating_capacity = 6,200
dimensions = Left Field: 302 ft (92.0496 m) Left-Center Field: 364 ft (110.9472 m) Center Field: 394 ft (120.0912 m) Right-Center Field: 365 ft (111.252 m) Right Field: 323 ft (98.4504 m)

Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium is a 6,200-seat baseball-only stadium in Newark, New Jersey, USA, that hosted its first regular season baseball game on July 16, 1999, as the tenants of the facility, the Newark Bears, took on the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds. It was built as the home of the Newark Bears baseball team, as well as to the college baseball teams of the Newark campus of Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

History

The Newark Bears had joined the league at its founding in 1998, but played their 'home' games at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut during that first season. They played several 'home' games at Skylands Park, in Augusta, New Jersey, during the first half of the 1999 season, but came home to Newark to open the second half.

The Bears have nicknamed the stadium "The Den," representing the home of a bear. Originally, the stadium was to be built along the Passaic River, perhaps at or near Riverbank Park, but the eventual site was at Broad and Orange Streets, a block from the New Jersey Transit Broad Street Station. A block of Orange Street, between Broad Street and McCarter Highway, was vacated to allow for the ballpark to be built.

In 2001, the Bears added "Bears & Eagles" to the name of the park, to reflect the heritage represented by both the International League's Bears, and the Negro National League Newark Eagles, both of whom had played at Ruppert Stadium (demolished in 1967) in the area now called the Ironbound.

Light Rail Service

Since July 17, 2006, the stadium is enjoying service from its own Riverfront Stadium station along the Newark Light Rail line. This station now serves the stadium on game days and other scheduled events.

External links

* [http://www.newarkbears.com/riverfront/about/ Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium]
* [http://njithighlanders.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/njit-m-basebl-body.html NJIT baseball]
* [http://scarletraiders.rutgers.edu/baseball/index.php Rutgers-Newark baseball]