Historic Hinchliffe Stadium, once home to the New York Black Yankees and the New York Cubans of the Negro Leagues, has been nominated for a $500,000 preservation grant by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the first crucial step in the award process.
The nomination comes after the Paterson City Council voted to move forward with the issuance of $1 million in bonds to cover Hinchliffe Stadium renovations.
The nomination was the first critical step. The stadium, which also hosted football, boxing and auto-racing events, is eligible for the Historic Preservation Grant, administered through the state’s Department of Community Affairs. Next up: deliberation from the Garden State Preservation Trust next week before a final vote before the State Legislature.
There are a surprising number of ballparks in America where Negro Leagues baseball was played (we covered the topic here), but none are in need of renovation to the extend Hinchliffe Stadium needs some TLC. It’s been unused for years, and certainly any renovation plan would begin with a discussion of stabilizing its condition. The first set of bonds and this grant would go a long ways toward covering those costs.
Hinchliffe Stadium is on the Ballpark Digest Endangered Ballparks list.
RELATED STORIES: Ripken endorses Hinchliffe Stadium renovation; Paterson moves forward on Hinchliffe Stadium renovation; Hinchliffe Stadium preservation moves proceeding
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