Standing on Camden’s new baseball diamond on a sunny Thursday afternoon, it was easy to envision a live sporting event.
Horns blaring into the night sky during a track meet along the waterfront. Or a homer hit so hard you’d bet it could reach the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Jeff Dean, walking across the synthetic green turf, took in the sights of the new — tentatively named — Camden Athletic Complex. He also reminisced.
Dean was just two years into his tenure as Rutgers-Camden’s athletics director in 2001 amid the opening of Campbell’s Field — on the very spot he now stood.
“The energy was ecstatic. Professional baseball was coming to the city of Camden and everybody was excited,” said Dean, noting that the minor-league Camden Riversharks called the field their home. “We enjoyed it as a home for our baseball team too.”
The opening of the new $15 million complex will mark yet another era for the sprawling site, which boasts a picturesque Philadelphia skyline as its backdrop.
The eight-lane, 400-meter track and baseball fields, which are both NCAA-regulated, will also be able to host soccer, field hockey and lacrosse. When complete, the field will include batting cages, sports lighting, a “red monster” outfield fence, a new score board, restrooms, changing areas with lockers and storage, as well as 35 parking spaces. There will also be seating for 500 and standing room for about 250, a county official said.
The sports complex is the latest in a series of major development projects on the Camden waterfront, which already includes a new Hilton Garden Inn, a practice facility for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Subaru headquarters. Although residents welcome the new addition to the city, many have expressed concerns about easy public access to the athletic complex and question whether it will meet the same fate as its predecessor.
Campbell’s Field, a 6,400-seat stadium, was ultimately considered a failure and waste of public money. In 2015, the minor league Riversharks folded under mounting debt. Camden County stepped in to purchase the property the same year to save it from foreclosure and settled the litigation by paying $3.5 million in outstanding debt.
About three years later, South Jersey political powerbroker George Norcross said pouring money into a minor league baseball stadium proved to be unwise.
On Thursday, two decades later, his brother Congressman Donald Norcross said the new $15 million sports complex will learn from the past.
“The new complex addresses the community first and foremost. Whether you’re a student at Rutgers or a resident of the city of Camden, this is for you. They weren’t using Campbell’s Field for the community and that’s what makes this remarkably different,” Norcross said.
CEO of the Rowan University / Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors and Former Camden Mayor, Dana Redd, looks over the new track with AP Construction owner Dino Petrongolo, in Camden, NJ on Thursday, October 7, 2021.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
During planning, local organizers, including Camden Little Leagues, were vocal about public access to the complex — highlighting that other university sports facilities have sometimes been locked during the day. Commissioner Jeff Nash said that following community meetings on the very topic, permitting was transferred from Rutgers-Camden to Camden County to ease the process for residents to access the space.
Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors CEO and former Camden Mayor Dana Redd said a community-use and access agreement is in its “final stages.”
Benjamin Saracco, a resident and member of a North Camden organization, the Cooper Grant Neighborhood Association, said he is dubious about public access.
“This is the most valuable remaining waterfront property if you ask me, and we’ve been asking for routine open-access throughout the planning… and not having to jump through hoops to get it,” said Saracco. “I’m still very skeptical about what this will look like for residents.”
But Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen, who recently announced a youth sports initiative, said the community is being prioritized.
“We want to make sure our residents and the community is able to enjoy the fields. By bridging that gap, we give them a sense of ownership and ensure it’s something we can all enjoy,” he said.
The 10-acre Camden Athletic Complex broke ground in the fall of 2020, about two years after Campbell’s Field was demolished. The project was funded by Rutgers University ($7.5 million), Camden County ($4 million) and the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden joint board ($3.5 million). Its planned opening is in November, officials said.
James Lex, Camden County Improvement Authority acting chief operating officer, said the fields are also installed with underground detention basins meant to mitigate flooding.
“This is no different than what you see in most NFL stadiums,” said county spokesman Dan Keashen. “It’s an amazing product that allows for play at any given point in time, regardless of weather conditions.”
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Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com.
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