Skylands Park

by Rich Fisher

The Sussex Skyhawks, members of the CanAm league, are the home team at Skylands Park. The New Jersey Cardinals have moved the franchise.

A drive up Route 15 in Sussex County winds its way past antique shops, Olde Lafayette Village, quaint stores, cozy eateries, open farmland and many other entrapments that typify a tranquil summer ride through the Skylands. But as the road enters Augusta and intersects with Route 206, a glance to the right provides a site that can not be seen anywhere else in the region. In the distance sits a structure painted barnyard red that fits nicely within the rural scenery, yet still has a quality that sets it apart. It is hardly grandiose, but not easy to ignore.

As you turn right at the intersection, the sign welcomes you to Skylands Park Sports and Recreation Center. Inside there is a batting cage, a sporting goods store, basketball courts and a baseball card store. After smacking a few pitches and making a couple free throws, ample food and drink concession stands are available to offer refreshment. Through the 2005 season the park served as home for the New Jersey Cardinals, a Class A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Sussex Skyhawks, of the CanAm League, now reside there.

The 4,258 blue seats, which situate every spectator on top of the action, extend down the right and left field lines, leading into picnic areas at both ends. The outfield wall is covered with billboards promoting area businesses; deluxe skyboxes look down upon a grass and dirt field that glistens under the sun, a reminder of baseball in its purest form. Beyond the scoreboard and outfield fence is a thicket of green trees, lending a pastoral feel to the grand old game.

The batter's boxes have been scuffed up by the cleats of major leaguers Brady Raggio, Curtis King, Matt Morris, Miguel Mejia and Keith Glauber, all of whom played for the Cardinals in New Jersey. Former Mets and Cardinals shortstop Jose Oquendo was New Jersey's manager last year, and has been promoted to St. Louis' bench coach this season. There have been 23 players from visiting teams at Skylands Park who have gone on to the majors, and those numbers will continue to grow.

Outside of the foul lines, fans are treated to music, fun and games between innings, and giveaways and offbeat attractions of all varieties. One day it's the Blues Brothers, the next night it's Krazy George. Professional wrestler King Kong Bundy threw out the first ball at this year's home opener, and of course there are the always-popular fireworks nights. It is minor league baseball at its best, and a craze that's sweeping the nation thanks to the affordable prices and the lure of seeing a future World Series hero. Tickets range from $8 to $4 and there is not a bad seat in the house. If the seats are filled, $3 gets you a spot in the picnic area, where many fans end up regardless of where their seats are. The picnic area provides a setting to socialize, letting the kids play with each other while the adults enjoy a frosty ale while firing up some burgers on the grill.

"It's a nice family night out," says assistant General Manager Herm Sorcher, who joined the Cardinals when they moved here from Hamilton, Ontario, in 1994. "It's a good, clean atmosphere, the prices at the concessions are very reasonable. When you compare this, financially, to doing something else with the family on a night out, this matches up favorably with everything but a walk in the park."

The park's success reflects a bold concept by Rob Hilliard, a Sussex County resident who came up with the idea of bringing pro baseball to the region. While Hilliard may not get credit for the Field of Dreams line "If you build it they will come", he saw a market here. After feasibility studies were conducted, the wheels were set in motion in the early 1990's.

There were snags, however. Stadium construction began during the winter of 1993-4, one of the harshest recorded in the 20th century. As a result the project incurred major cost overruns. Bankruptcy problems plagued the owners, making for some interesting improvisations during that 1994 season.

A story in the 1998 Cardinals Yearbook, written by Mike Battaglino, details the problems of that first year and that first night, which culminated with team manager Tony Torre and his staff getting food poisoning from eating the leftover sandwiches that had been sitting out in the heat all night.

Perhaps because of this "bunker mentality", the Cardinals survived and thrived, winning the New York Penn League that first season and playing before packed houses. Attendance was aided by the fact Major League Baseball went on strike that year, forcing thousands of disgusted fans to flock to minor league parks.

"But we're not competing with the major league teams. When the Yankees and Mets do well, it helps us because it creates an awareness of baseball. And we're not competing for their fans, it's more like we're sharing them. All we wanted was for those fans to give us a chance, and when they do, we think we give them a product that will bring them back."

Since that whirlwind first year, the financial problems were solved and the creditors were all paid back in full. Hilliard is no longer with the team, but Skylands Park has become a model facility, and its tenants provide New Jersey fans with exciting baseball.