Skylands Park

The outside of Skylands Park, Aug-2001, designed to resemble a farm complex.

A fairly standard seating configuration is in place, with concessions under the stands.

The shape of a baseball mowed into the infield punctuates the bucolic setting.

Chronological Tour: Stop 55

• Location: Sussex Road (SR 565) near Route 206 and NJ 15, Frankford, N.J. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1994 as Skylands Park
• Additional names: Skylands Stadium (2014)
• Home team: New Jersey Cardinals, New York-Penn League (1994-2005); Sussex Skyhawks, Can-Am League (2006-10); Sussex County Miners, Can-Am League (2015-19), Frontier League (2020-present)
• Capacity: 4,336

Rating: 3 baseballs

Delays in construction and financing meant the park almost failed to open on time, but the first pitch here was thrown in June 1994, on schedule. The park was not completed, however, until 1995.

The place looks something like a barn complex from the outside, reminding people that this is farm country. The giveaway is all the parking outside and the light stanchions inside.

The Cardinals won the New York-Penn League title in their first season here, prompting the club to designate its official location “94 Championship Place”. However, the steady stream of fans from the south and east slowed to a trickle in 1999 thanks to the arrival of several independent teams in North and Central Jersey. The saga ended in October 2005, when the owners of the Altoona Curve purchased the team and announced that it would move to a new facility in State College, Pa. The Cardinals thus became the first New Jersey team to leave the state or cease operations since the 1978 Jersey City Indians.

With the departure of the Cardinals leaving a void at Skylands Park, Larry Hall, of the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League, negotiated a lease to start a new franchise in that loop and have it play in Sussex County starting in 2006. It was not the first independent ball at Skylands: the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League played 21 games here in 1999 while awaiting their own new park. The Skyhawks chose to suspend operations after the 2010 season, and the park lay dormant for four years, until a new operator made arrangements to bring in another Can-Am League team for 2015.

The new owner bought the ballpark before he obtained a franchise and started a new team, demonstrating a commitment to growing a new brand and reviving interest in the area. Other events are scheduled throughout the year, including semi-pro football and a Christmas light show. While there has not been much in the way of site renovation, and indeed the old whiteboard for lineups at the end of the first-base bleacher is gone, there is a new scoreboard and video board in place. There is also a cigar lounge down the first-base line, an unusual feature in a state that generally prohibits smoking anywhere near an athletic field.