Skylands Park
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Skylands Park is a baseball stadium located in Augusta, New Jersey. The official seating capacity of Skylands Park is 4,356. It will be the home of the new Sussex Skyhawks of the Can-Am League starting with the 2006 baseball season.
[edit] History
Ground was broken in the fall of 1993 for a new park that would host the relocated Glens Falls, New York Redbirds. The winter of 1994 brought the worst weather in several years to North Jersey, but the new ballpark managed to open on time that June, although the luxury boxes were not completed until the following year.
The park is designed to look a little bit like a farm complex from the outside. Augusta has long been the home of dairy farms, and the Cardinals wanted to make their stadium blend in.
In 1999, the field hosted several games for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League, prior to the completion of their new home, Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. In addition, the Sussex County Colonels of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, a summer league for college-eligible players, made Skylands Park their home for several seasons.
The stadium was the home field for the New Jersey Cardinals of the New York - Penn League from 1994 to 2005. Following the 2005 season, the Cardinals were sold and subsequently relocated to State College, Pennsylvania where they are now known as the State College Spikes.
On January 10, 2006, it was announced that Skylands Park would be the home to the newly named Sussex Skyhawks in the Can-Am League. On May 29, 2006, the Skyhawks played their first regular season game at Skylands Park, dropping an 18-11 decision to the North Shore Spirit.
