SIUH Community Park

Last updated

Staten Island University Hospital
Community Park
SIUHCP3.jpg
SIUH Community Park
Former namesRichmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George
Location75 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, New York, 10301
Coordinates 40°38′44.07″N74°4′35.14″W / 40.6455750°N 74.0764278°W / 40.6455750; -74.0764278
Owner City of New York
OperatorStaten Island Entertainment LLC
Capacity 7,171
Field sizeLeft Field: 320 feet (98 m)
Center Field: 390 feet (119 m)
Right Field: 318 feet (97 m)
SurfaceNatural grass (2001–2022) artificial turf (2022–present)
Construction
Broke groundJune 8, 2000 [1]
OpenedJune 24, 2001 [2]
Renovated2021–2022 [3]
Construction cost$29.5 million [4]
($48.8 million in 2022 dollars [5] )
Architect Populous
Architecture + [6]
Structural engineer Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. [7]
General contractor Bovis Lend Lease [6]
Tenants
Staten Island Yankees (NYPL) 2001–2020
Staten Island FerryHawks (ALPB) 2022–present
Wagner Seahawks baseball (NEC) 2008–2020, 2022–present
New York Storm (PC) 2004
MAAC baseball tournament 2018–2019

The Staten Island University Hospital Community Park (also SIUH Community Park; formerly the Richmond County Bank Ballpark) is a baseball stadium located on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island FerryHawks, a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, and is the largest stadium in the league by capacity, at 7,171. Since 2022, it has also been the home of the Wagner College Seahawks baseball team. In addition, local high schools have the chance to play at least one game a season at the park.

Contents

From 2001 to 2020, it hosted the Staten Island Yankees, the New York–Penn League affiliate of the New York Yankees. The ballpark was previously home to the city's Pro Cricket team, the New York Storm, in 2004.

History

View over the outfield fence in 2007 StadiumView.jpg
View over the outfield fence in 2007
During a game in July 2004 Richmond County Bank Ballpark 2004.jpg
During a game in July 2004

Site

The site on which the ballpark was built, on St. George overlooking New York Harbor, was once the site of the B&O Railroad rail yards for the City of New York, and the current stadium parking lot was the site of Major League Baseball in the 1880s. The New York Metropolitans of the American Association played at the St. George Grounds in 1886–1887 and the New York Giants played there while awaiting the construction of the second Polo Grounds.

Richmond County Bank Ballpark was part of a deal with both the Yankees and New York Mets, brokered by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Due to Major League Baseball territory rules, the Yankees and Mets have veto power over each other (and any other Major League Baseball franchise), if they want to bring an affiliated minor-league team into the New York City metropolitan area. The Yankees and Mets had attempted to move minor-league teams to the area in the past, only to be turned down with their rival.[ citation needed ] With help (and public money) from the mayor, both teams agreed to allow each other to have a minor-league team in the city in return for new stadiums. The Mets moved a franchise to a new stadium, called Keyspan Park (renamed Maimonides Park in 2021), in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 8, 2000, upon which RCB's sponsorship was announced. [1] The park opened a little more than a year later on June 24, 2001. [2]

Use

When the September 11 attacks happened across New York Harbor, the RCB Ballpark was used as a staging area for emergency workers due to its proximity to the Staten Island Ferry's St. George Terminal, and thus to Manhattan. After the attacks, the RCB Ballpark soon became a "spiritual link and sight line to Manhattan" for Staten Island residents. [8]

In 2005, RCB Ballpark hosted two of the four concerts of the Across the Narrows Festival. The other two concerts took place simultaneously at KeySpan Park. On August 17, 2010, RCB Ballpark hosted the NY-Penn League All Star Game. This was the ballpark's first opportunity to host the game and the second time that it was held in New York City. [9]

On August 5, 2017, Impact Wrestling hosted a live event at the stadium. 1,100 fans attended the event.[ citation needed ]

In 2018 and 2019, the Richmond County Bank Ballpark was host to the MAAC Baseball Tournament. [10]

On November 7, 2020, the New York Yankees announced that they were withdrawing their team from Staten Island, but they would seek to place a team from the independent Atlantic League at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in 2021. [11] The New York City Economic Development Corporation is looking at $5 million in stadium upgrades, including field reconfiguration and synthetic-turf installation, to host Atlantic League games, as well as rugby and soccer. [12] In August 2021, the ballpark's lease was transferred from the Staten Island Yankees to Staten Island Entertainment, owners of the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League. [13] In April 2022, the park was renamed Staten Island University Hospital, Community Park (SIUH Community Park), following a five-year naming rights deal with Staten Island University Hospital (owned by Northwell Health). [14]

Design

Brooklyn Cyclones vs. Staten Island Yankees on June 28, 2014 Brooklyn Cyclones vs. Staten Island Yankees - June 28, 2014 (14568019183).jpg
Brooklyn Cyclones vs. Staten Island Yankees on June 28, 2014

SIUH Community Park was designed by Populous and Architecture +. It was designed to take advantage of the stadium's location overlooking New York Harbor. The main entrance to the stadium is located on street level with the seating bowl and field built below street level. Sails at each entrance are a reference to the Staten Island Ferry boats, which frequently pass nearby, and the St. George Ferry Terminal, which is about 0.33 miles (0.53 km) away. The batter's eye in center field is able to retract so that spectators can view the Manhattan skyline.

RCB Ballpark has 18 regular-sized luxury suites along with a 60-person Skyline Suite with one of the best views of the harbor. A small kids' area is located down the left-field line with games.

A replica of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is located on top of the main scoreboard, which formerly contained the letters "RC" attached to the front which was done to resemble the logo of the Richmond County branch of the New York Community Bank, the former of which formerly was the sponsor of the park. The letters were removed in 2022.

The grandstand of the SIUH Community Park in Staten Island, New York. Richmond County Bank Ballpark grandstand.jpg
The grandstand of the SIUH Community Park in Staten Island, New York.

The outfield walls have changed several times over the course of the stadium's history. Originally the stadium had four LED video boards spaced out on the outfield wall that would display rotating advertisements throughout the game. After these boards malfunctioned the team replaced them with traditional signage along the wall. These signs were replaced with a new 200-foot-long (61 m) video board in right field in 2007. The new video board is one of the longest in the minors. Also in 2007 the Ballpark received a brand new high-definition main video board on top of the scoreboard.

Transportation

The St. George Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry is less than a five-minute walk from the ballpark. The S40 and S44 buses directly serve the stadium, but the stadium is accessible from the buses that terminate at the St. George Ferry Terminal. [15]

The St. George station of the Staten Island Railway is also at the ferry terminal. From 2001 to 2009, on game days during the baseball season, SIR trains served the RCB Ballpark station adjacent to the stadium, with trains from both St. George and Tottenville. [16] In 2010, train service to RCB Ballpark station was suspended due to budget cuts from the MTA. [17] [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic League of Professional Baseball</span> Independent professional baseball league founded in 1998

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's corporate headquarters is located at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staten Island</span> Borough in New York City and county in New York, United States

Staten Island is the southernmost borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York. The borough is separated from the adjacent state of New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated New York City borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km2); it is also the least densely populated and most suburban borough in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maimonides Park</span> Baseball park in Brooklyn, New York

Maimonides Park is a minor league baseball stadium on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The home team and primary tenant is the New York Mets-affiliated Brooklyn Cyclones of the South Atlantic League. The stadium has also hosted other teams as well. The NYU Violets Baseball team began playing at Maimonides Park in 2015, and the New York Cosmos soccer team of the NASL played the 2017 NASL season there. Rugby United New York of Major League Rugby began play in 2019 with MCU Park as its home field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staten Island Yankees</span> Minor league baseball team

The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and played in the New York–Penn League at Richmond County Bank Ballpark along the waterfront in St. George. The Yankees won six New York–Penn League championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Valley Renegades</span> Minor league baseball team

The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Park. From 1994 to 2020, the team competed in the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George Cricket Grounds</span>

St. George Cricket Grounds or St. George Grounds is a former baseball venue located on Staten Island, New York. St. George was the home park for the New York Metropolitans of the American Association for the 1886 and 1887 seasons. The grounds were also a part-time home to the New York Giants of the National League in 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Shore, Staten Island</span>

The term North Shore is frequently applied to a series of neighborhoods within the New York City borough of Staten Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George M. Steinbrenner Field</span> Baseball stadium in Tampa, Florida

George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida, across the Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium, the home of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The ballpark was built in 1996 and seats 11,026 people, with an addition in right field built in 2007. It is the largest spring training ballpark in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counter Clocks Field</span> Baseball stadium in Lexington, Kentucky

Counter Clocks Field is a ballpark in Lexington, Kentucky. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Lexington Counter Clocks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. It was built in 2001. It holds 6,994 people.

Silver Stadium was a baseball stadium located at 500 Norton Street in Rochester, New York. It was the home stadium for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League from 1929 to 1996, and for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League for their final season in 1948. The ballpark also briefly hosted professional football as it was the home field for the Rochester Braves in 1936 and the Rochester Tigers in 1936 and 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batter's eye</span> Baseball-related feature of a stadium

The batter's eye or batter's eye screen is a solid-colored, usually dark area beyond the center field wall of a baseball stadium, that is the visual backdrop directly in the line of sight of a baseball batter, while facing the pitcher and awaiting a pitch. This dark surface allows the batter to see the pitched ball against a sharply contrasted and uncluttered background. Its purpose is the safety and hitting success of the batter. The use of a batter's background has been standard in baseball since at least the late 19th century. The batter's eye performs the same role at a baseball venue as the sight-screen does at a cricket venue, except that a cricket sight-screen is usually white in order to contrast with the dark red cricket ball. Alternatively a black screen is used to contrast the white Limited Overs cricket ball.

College of Staten Island Baseball Complex is a stadium in Staten Island, New York. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of Staten Island Yankees before they moved to Richmond County Bank Ballpark in 2001. The ballpark had a capacity of 2,500 people and opened in 1999. It currently hosts the College of Staten Island Dolphins baseball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George Terminal</span> Transit center in Staten Island, New York

St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Hall, SIUH Community Park and Richmond County Supreme Court. St. George is one of the few remaining rail-boat connections in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond County Bank Ballpark station</span>

Richmond County Bank Ballpark, styled simply as BallPark on station signage, is a disused station on the Staten Island Railway, located at Wall Street and Richmond Terrace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbell's Field</span>

Campbell's Field was a 6,425-seat baseball park in Camden, New Jersey, United States that hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 11, 2001. The ballpark was home to the Rutgers–Camden college baseball team, and until 2015 was home to the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The naming rights were owned by the Camden-based Campbell Soup Company, which paid $3 million over ten years. Stadium demolition started in mid-December 2018.

The Wagner Seahawks baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, United States. The team has been a member of the Northeast Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, since 1987. Wagner College's first baseball team was first fielded in 1945. The Seahawks are coached by Craig Noto. The Seahawks have won one Northeast Conference baseball tournament and one Northeast Conference regular season championship, in 2000 and 2009 respectively. Wagner has appeared in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship once, in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staten Island FerryHawks</span> American professional baseball team

The Staten Island FerryHawks are an American minor-league professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Staten Island. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball They play their home games at SIUH Community Park, the former home of the Staten Island Yankees, which is in the St. George neighborhood and overlooks the Manhattan skyline across New York Harbor.

References

  1. 1 2 Lueck, Thomas J. (June 9, 2000). "Bank Puts Its Money, and Its Name, on Staten Island Ballpark". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Araton, Harvey (June 25, 2001). "Sports of The Times; A Ballpark a Skeptic Can Love". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ Reichard, Kevin (April 2, 2022). "New for 2022: SIUH Community Park". Ballpark Digest. August Publications.
  4. ↑ Bagli, Charles V. (February 9, 2000). "Deal Is Near for Yankee Farm Team Stadium on Staten Island". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  5. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Rope, John (April 9, 2001). "Lexington, Others Continue Building Boom for Minors". SportsBusiness Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Ballpark at St. George". Architectural Record . 200. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ Araton, Harvey (June 19, 2002). "Keeping Eye on the Ball, Not the Skyline; At a Staten Island Ballpark, the View Has Changed, but Dreams Endure". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Pimpsner, Robert M. (December 1, 2009). "Battle of the Boroughs to Kick Off 2010 NY-Penn League Season". Baseball Digest . Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  10. ↑ "MAAC Baseball Championship Begins New Era on Staten Island". maacsports.com (Press release). Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. May 23, 2018.
  11. ↑ "New York Yankees announce new Minor League affiliation structure". MLB.com (Press release). November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  12. ↑ Reichard, Kevin (November 21, 2020). "Upgrades, Atlantic League in works for Staten Island ballpark". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  13. ↑ Reichard, Kevin (August 17, 2021). "Richmond County Bank Ballpark lease transferred". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  14. ↑ Regina, Nick (April 1, 2022). "'It's a great day for Staten Island' -- FerryHawks unveil new ballpark name, partnered sponsor". Staten Island Advance. SILive.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Staten Island Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  16. 1 2 "2010 NYC Transit Service Reductions" (PDF). mta.info . Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 27, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  17. ↑ Office of Diane J. Savino (2013). "State Senator Diane J. Savino's 2013 Staten Island Railway Rider Report" (PDF). nysenate.gov . New York State Senate. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.