Hinchcliffe Stadium Will Rise Again

k finance + worness, Money bui

Hinchliffe Stadium Will Rise Again

Paterson Landmark Scheduled for Redevelopment

14 The Positive Community March 2020 www.thepositivecommunity.com thepositivecommunity.com Summer 2017 The Positive Community 17 Faith & Love Fuel His Vision Leon Ellis By Glenda Cadogan A major development in Paterson, New Jersey cleared another hurdle recently when the City Council approved an 80-page agreement with developers RPM Development and Baye AdolfoWilson for the $76.7 million project to rebuild historic Hinchcliffe Stadium.

The next major step for the plan to rebuild the stadium, which has been vacant and deteriorating for more than two decades, will be getting the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s approval for the use of $50 million in state tax credits for the project.

Designated a National Historic Landmark, the stadium overlooks the Paterson Great Falls. Its playing fields intended for local football, baseball, and track & field events, have accommodated many other sports and performances. Its most remarkable significance is the role it played in Negro League Baseball. It was the site of the Colored Championships of the Nation in 1933, and later served as a regular home field for the New York Black Yankees.

Many of the greatest major league players starred at Hinchcliffe Stadium: Larry Doby played sports in Paterson Public Schools and became the first black player to be signed in the American League three months after Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Other notable names are Josh Gibson; James “Cool Papa” Bell; Oscar Charleston; Satchel Paige; and Monte Irvin, who hailed from Orange, NJ. Thankfully, Negro League baseball will be remembered and honored when the stadium is rebuilt.

The reconstruction of the stadium with about 7,800 seats includes a restaurant, museum exhibits about Hinchliffe’s role in the Negro baseball leagues, and a 75-unit senior citizen apartment building with a 5,800-square-foot child care facility on its first floor.

Despite some opposition regarding parking and traffic, Mayor André Sayegh has made Hinchliffe one of the top priorities of his administration. He and his staff often refer to the stadium plan as a “legacy project” they predict will transform the area around the Great Falls. —TPC Staff Photos: Raymond Hagans L–R: Chief Operating Officer of the City of Paterson, Vaughn L. McKoy, Bergen County Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter and CEO, BAW Developement, LLC Baye Adofo-Wilson L–R: Benjie Wimberly, Shavonda E. Sumter, Senator Nellie Pou, Vaughn McKoy, Paterson Mayor André Sayegh, Dr. Lilisa Mimms, and Eileen Shafer L–R: Benjie Wimberly, Vaughn McKoy, Mayor André Sayegh, Paterson Public Schools Superintendent Eileen Shafer, Shavonda Sumter, and Congressman Bill Pascrell