View source for Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium

{{short description|Former baseball stadium in Newark, New Jersey, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| stadium_name = Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium
| nickname = Brick City<br>The Den
| image = Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium 2.jpg
| location = 450 Broad Street<br>[[Newark, New Jersey]], U.S.
| broke_ground = 
| opened = July 16, 1999
| demolished = August 2019
| owner = 
| surface = Grass
| construction_cost = {{US$|30 million|link=yes}}
| architect = [[Populous (company)|Populous]]
| tenants = [[Newark Bears]] ([[Atlantic League of Professional Baseball|Atlantic]]/[[Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball|Can-Am]]) (1999–2013)<br>[[Rutgers University-Newark#Athletics|Rutgers–Newark Scarlet Raiders baseball]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]])<br>[[NJIT Highlanders#baseball|NJIT Highlanders baseball]] (NCAA)
| seating_capacity = 6,200
| dimensions = Left field: {{convert|302|ft|m}}<br>Left-center field: {{convert|364|ft|m}}<br>Center field: {{convert|394|ft|m}}<br>Right-center field: {{convert|365|ft|m}}<br>Right field: {{convert|320|ft|m}}
| publictransit = '''[[Newark Light Rail]]''' at [[Riverfront Stadium station|Riverfront Stadium]] and [[Newark Broad Street station|Newark Broad Street]]<br>{{bus icon}} [[NJ Transit Bus]]: {{NJ bus link|11|13|27|28|go28|29|30|41|76|378}}
}}

'''Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium''', originally simply '''Riverfront Stadium''', was a 6,200-seat [[baseball park]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]] built in 1999. It was the home field of the [[Newark Bears]], who played in the [[Atlantic League of Professional Baseball]], an independent minor baseball league. The Bears played in the stadium from 1999 until 2013 when they announced a move to the [[Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball]], but the team was folded shortly thereafter.

The stadium was also home to the baseball teams of two of Newark's universities: the [[Rutgers University-Newark#Athletics|Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders]], who play in the [[New Jersey Athletic Conference]] as part of [[NCAA Division III]], and the [[NJIT Highlanders]], who play in the [[America East Conference]] as part of [[NCAA Division I]].

The stadium was named in honor of the [[Newark Bears (International League)|original Bears]], who were the top farm club of the [[New York Yankees]] from 1946 until 1949, and the [[Newark Eagles]], who played in the [[Negro leagues]].  Above the press boxes, the stadium featured a Hall of Fame bearing the names of famed players from the Bears and the Eagles and baseball players from Newark.

The stadium cost $34 million to build. It was sold to a developer in 2016 for $23 million, and in the site was designated for a commercial-residential project originally named Riverfront Square<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/03/former_newark_bears_stadium_sold_to_nyc_developer.html|title=Former Newark Bears stadium sold to NYC developer for $23M|website=NJ.com|date=20 March 2016|last=Ivers|first=Dan|access-date=October 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/03/does_riverfront_stadium_sale_squash_newarks_dreams.html|title=Does stadium sale squash Newark's dreams of getting a casino?|website=NJ.com|date=21 March 2016|last=Mazzola|first=Jessica|access-date=October 7, 2017}}</ref> and demolished by the city in 2019, but resold and renamed CitiSquare Newark in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newyorkyimby.com/2022/01/city-planning-board-approves-11-building-mixed-use-development-in-newark-new-jersey.html|website=New York YIMBY|title=City planning boatd approves 11-building mixed-use development in Newark, New Jersey|date=5 Jan 2022|last=Morris|first=Sebastian|access-date=15 August 2025}}</ref> Progress on the site was stalled as of mid-2025, but tax breaks to the developer continuing due to a loophole, with development experts speculating that the developer was not capable of such a large project.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/essex/2025/07/big-time-citisquare-project-in-newark-stalled-three-years-after-approval-whats-next.html|title=Big-time CitiSquare project in Newark stalled three years after approval. What's next?|website=NJ.com|date=28 July 2025|last=Strunsky|first=Steve|access-date=15 August 2025}}</ref>

==History==
The Newark Bears had joined the Atlantic League at its founding in 1998 but played their 'home' games at [[The Ballpark at Harbor Yard]] in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]] during that first season, sharing the park with the [[Bridgeport Bluefish]]. Since the construction of the stadium was still not finished in 1999, the Bears played their first 20 home games at [[Skylands Park]] in [[Augusta, New Jersey]], sharing the facility with the [[New Jersey Cardinals]]. The stadium hosted its first baseball game on July 16, 1999, when the Bears took on the [[Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds]].<ref>{{Citation   | last = Cvornyek   | first = Robert   | title = Baseball in Newark    | publisher = Arcadia Publishing   | year = 2003    | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J0rdOAhfTZoC&q=Baseball+in+Newark   | isbn =    9780738513263}}</ref>

The Bears nicknamed the stadium "Brick City" or "The Den".

Originally, the stadium was to be built along the [[Passaic River]], perhaps at or near [[Riverbank Park]], but the eventual site was at Broad and Orange Streets. The block of Orange Street, between Broad Street and [[Route 21 (New Jersey)|McCarter Highway]], was vacated to allow for the ballpark to be built.

In 2001, the Bears added "Bears & Eagles" to the name of the park.  The new name reflected the heritage represented by both the [[International League]]'s Bears, and the [[Negro National League (the second)|Negro National League]] [[Newark Eagles]], both of whom had played at [[Ruppert Stadium (Newark)|Ruppert Stadium]] (demolished in 1967) in the area now called the [[Ironbound]].

In 2019, the stadium was demolished to make way for a new development called Riverfront Square.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://therealdeal.com/tristate/issues_articles/bound-for-glory/|title=In and around Newark's Ironbound projects proliferate and rents rise|last=Pofeldt|first=Elaine|date=November 20, 2019|work=The Real Deal|access-date=January 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://hudsonreporter.com/2019/08/15/scoreboard-87|title=SCOREBOARD – The sad end to a beautiful ballpark|last=Hague|first=Jim|date=August 15, 2019|work=Hudson Reporter|access-date=January 27, 2020}}</ref>  The developers of the project, Lotus, selected Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), led by [[Vishaan Chakrabarti]], to develop the master plan and oversee part of the architectural design for the project.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheah |first=Selina |date=2017-07-31 |title=Newark's Bears stadium will be replaced by a 2.3-million-square-foot mixed-use development |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2017/07/newark-bears-stadium-redevelopment/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=The Architect’s Newspaper |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Public transportation ==
The stadium was across the street from [[New Jersey Transit]]'s [[Broad Street Station (Newark)|Broad Street Station]]. Opened July 17, 2006, the [[Riverfront Stadium (NLR station)|Riverfront Stadium station]] on the [[Newark Light Rail]] provides service from [[Newark Penn Station]].

== See also ==
* [[List of NCAA Division I baseball venues]]
* [[History of sports in Newark, New Jersey]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060512061247/http://njithighlanders.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/njit-m-basebl-body.html NJIT baseball]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060613212544/http://scarletraiders.rutgers.edu/baseball/index.php Rutgers-Newark baseball]
* [http://www.ballparkreviews.com/newarknj/newarknj.htm Ballpark Reviews - Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081229112451/http://www.minorleagueballparks.com/bear_nj.html Minor League Ballparks - Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium}}
[[Category:Newark Bears]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball venues]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Newark, New Jersey]]
[[Category:College baseball venues in New Jersey]]
[[Category:NJIT Highlanders baseball]]
[[Category:Rutgers–Newark Scarlet Raiders]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1999]]
[[Category:Sports venues in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct minor league baseball venues]]
[[Category:1999 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:2019 disestablishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Sports venues demolished in 2019]]
[[Category:Demolished sports venues in New Jersey]]