Newark Schools Stadium
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| Former names | City Field ASL ) (1967-1968)Newark City Schools (1925-2006) |
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Newark Schools Stadium (originally named City Field, nicknamed "The Old Lady of Bloomfield Avenue") is the name of two stadiums that were both located on Bloomfield Avenue between Abington and Roseville Avenues in the
The first stadium was used primarily for
The original stadium was condemned in 2006 and demolished in 2009. In its place, a brand new Schools Stadium was constructed on the site and the new stadium opened in 2011.
The current Schools Stadium is also horseshoe shaped, but the seating is not arranged throughout the horseshoe like the old stadium was; instead, there are two metal bleacher sections, one on each side of the venue, and it has a capacity of 5,600.
The current stadium plays host to football games played by
Soccer
For the 1967-68 ASL (American Soccer League) season, the Newark Ukrainian Sitch club moved its home games to this field. Prior to that season, 'Sitch' played at Ironbound field. The move to an approx. 25,000 capacity ground was welcomed as an improvement. The crowds never filled the stadium however and the Ukrainian Weekly refers to crowds only in the hundreds rather than thousands.[2]
Football
After the Tornadoes folded, Newark's
Most of Newark's public school football teams played at the stadium as well until 2006. The Stadium also served, since 1955 until its closing for reconstruction, as the home of the North Newark Little League (formerly the Saint Francis Xavier Little League).
Baseball
Schools Stadium was also used for baseball. In 1926, the Newark Stars of the Eastern Colored League played at stadium. When the stadium was configured for baseball, the distance down the foul lines was so short, that balls hit over the fence were ground rule doubles. High school teams also used the field for baseball until 2006. The Stadium was also the original home of what has become one of the largest youth baseball programs in the City of Newark - the North Newark Little League. Formerly the St. Francis Xavier Little League, the youth of the program utilized the baseball fields from 1955. It was the last organization to have continued use of the facility (even after it was condemned in 2006) right up to the point of its closing for reconstruction.
Track and field
Olympian Jesse Owens, once ran track there and lost to a Newark local named Eulace Peacock. Meanwhile, another Olympian, Milt Campbell began his track career at Newark Schools Stadium. The National Women's Olympic Trials also were held in the stadium in 1928.[3]
Riots
During the
Decline and a new stadium
Years of neglect allowed the stadium to experience a large amount of deterioration and compromised structural integrity. At various points in its later years, parts of the stadium's wooden bleachers were blocked off with fencing to prevent spectators from sitting in these seats.
In 2006, a capital bond request was approved by the Newark City Council that included $63.7 million in funding for 14 projects that ranged from a new robotics center to the rebuilding of Schools Stadium. In Fall 2006, Schools Stadium was condemned and three years later the stadium was demolished. Barringer and East Side moved their games to Untermann Field while the new stadium was being constructed.
References
- Rutgers University-Newark, 2017. https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/55294/PDF/1/play/
- ^ The Ukrainian Weekly, September 30, 1967 (online archive at http://www.ukrweekly.com)
- ^ Field, Bryan (April 1, 1928). "City Stadium in Newark Is Picked for Finals in the National Trials. Olympic Tryouts For Women July 4". The New York Times.