Belleville Wants To Upgrade Historic Grandstands At Stadium, Seeks More Money From State

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The wheels continue to spin on a $10.5 million plan to rehabilitate a historic grandstand in Belleville.

Two years ago, the township announced plans to renovate the concrete stands and make other upgrades in Belleville Municipal Stadium at 100 Passaic Avenue using a combination of municipal funds and grant money obtained through the state Green Acres program.

The town council heard an update about the project – and its cost – at their Feb. 24 meeting.

According to engineering firm CME Associates, some proposed upgrades for the first phase of the project include:

• Structural repairs to keep the concrete grandstands safe and stable
• ADA‑compliant seating so people using wheelchairs have a proper place to watch games
• ADA‑compliant restrooms to bring the facilities up to modern standards
• Paving and organizing the space under the stands for safer, more usable storage and operations

The cost of the above four items comes to about $6 million. Belleville has already secured about $2 million in Green Acres funding, and the council has now authorized a supplemental funding request to the state for additional money. If the township secures roughly another $2 million – which is possible but not guaranteed – the remaining local share for this first phase of construction would be about $2 million.

No final construction contract has been awarded yet.

Rebuilding an equivalent new concrete stadium would likely be in the neighborhood of $20 million, the engineering firm reported.

Watch footage from the Feb. 24 meeting here, or view the video below (cued to the presentation on the stadium upgrades).

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