Capacity: 5,000
Opened: May 1998
Yogi Berra Stadium
Made a stop here on my trip to New York. Since my local team is an independent team we do get some players from this league and several teams from the league have moved down into the Can-Am League before eventually folding. Somehow this league has managed to survive for 20 years which is quite impressive for an independent league and New Jersey is one of the top franchises in the league.
How did I get there?
The stadium is located on the campus of Montclair State University. It is easily accessable from US 46. I had come from Thomas Edison NHS and had come up the road by campus before looking for a place to eat. The stadium is located off of Yogi Berra Dr at the top of the hill. Parking is free.
Ticket prices
Tickets are either $12 or $17 but the night I was there no ushers were working so you could pretty much sit wherever you wanted. It’s a small stadium so there was not a bad seat in the house.
Finding my seat and ammenities
Not a big stadium and with no ushers working you could sit where you wanted to. That could be a problem with a large crowd but for the game I attended there was a small crowd. There were however some fans of the visiting team, the Quebec Capitales. The crowd never really got into it though that could have changed since the home team came back to win the game in the ninth after I left. Also there is a museum dedicated to Yogi Berra attached to the park. Berra attended Montclair State.
In game experience
The entertainment was geared towards kids so they participated in most of the between inning entertainment. Like most leagues nowadays there is a set time for inning breaks and you know the time is almost up when what sounded like microphone feedback played. The guy sitting next to me said they used to sound an air horn. I thought the MC just forgot to turn off the microphone or the sound system was bad.
Getting out
A bit more challenging here. I couldn’t go out the way I came so I had to head to the other end of campus to get back to the main road. Somewhere in there I got turned around and drove around campus lost. It’s a good thing it was a small campus and I eventually found my way out.
Wrap
This was certainly a new experience and I wouldn’t mind getting back into the area since there are two other teams in this league in Sussex County and Rockland. It might be awhile and I am certainly not going to go out of my way to hit any of these parks but since Sussex is the last remaining stadium for me to visit in New Jersey that might just gnaw at me.