players will once again take the field at the newly renovated Hinchliffe Stadium today officials in Paterson reopened the historic Stadium formerly home to several historical Negro League teams including the New York black Yankees and the New York Cubans the stadium was built in 1932 but was later abandoned in 1997 and set for demolition however with the help of activists the stadium was saved from the wrecking ball and a 94 million dollar renovation was soon announced now the project which includes a newly renovated facility and other improvements is a sign of revitalization for the city of Paterson Ted Goldberg reports as the opening comes two months after the State Attorney General took over operations Paterson's troubled police force ladies and gentlemen Welcome to the internet as part of a project totaling 94 million dollars Paterson's Hinchliffe stadium has gone from stale to state of the art the last time Hinchliffe stadium was open was in 1997. and if you would have asked me what would happen first the Mets would win Another World Series I would have bet on the Mets hundreds of people piled in for the formal reopening of hinchliff Stadium finally open after Decades of neglect and ready to host its first professional baseball game in more than 70 years celebrities and senators were both on hand to usher in a new era for this historic Stadium it stumbled and fell and hurt and struggled it became an eyesore but yet just like this nation there are people that refuse to stop believing you've all seen the pictures of the state that it was in there and what has been transformed to now and you got to have Vision to see this and where there's no vision the people perish Hinchliffe stadium has hosted races and boxing matches but it's most famous for being a stadium for Negro League Baseball people at today's ribbon cutting emphasize how important it was for local Advocates to fight and preserve this piece of history since only one other Negro League Stadium is still standing there's so many efforts going on to bury over our past or to somehow uh smooth it over or disneyify it there's a lot of truths that we have in the Negro Leagues that need to be told stories that need to be celebrated not because of the hardship and the challenges but what folk overcame we need to remember little kids need to know they need to understand and there's not a color in this country that doesn't participate in our Collective history so these are the reasons because places like this will disappear if we keep shoving them under the road this third base line doesn't just lead from home plate to the edge of the Great Falls and the water below this line connects our youth through history to the generations who came before including those who were given a place to play when so many Stadium Gates were locked this Stadium might have been demolished if it wasn't listed on the national register of historic places in 2004. our entire country can learn to imagine this new stadium and these grounds as a place where local youth can run jump and play can hit a baseball or kick a soccer ball hinchliff stadium will be the home of the minor league New Jersey jackals this season and a home for athletes in Paterson for years to come in Paterson I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight News