Baseball Field Upgrades At Park In Newark Are A Homerun For Local Youth, Officials Say

NEWARK, NJ — A $1.72 million series of upgrades at a county-run baseball field in Newark is a home run for local athletes, officials and advocates say.

Earlier this week, Essex County officials announced that a major modernization project at Weequahic Park has crossed the finish line.

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The baseball field was upgraded with a synthetic infield playing surface and natural grass sod in the outfield. In addition, new fencing, dugouts, sidewalks and irrigation and drainage systems were installed at the site.

The engineering firm of French and Parrello from Wall was awarded a professional services contract of $96,850 to design the improvements. Zenith Construction from Orange was awarded a publicly bid contract for $1,625,000 to perform the construction work. The project was funded with a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Board.

Work began in December 2025 and took six months to complete.

Supporters of the upgrades included Newark city council member Pat Council and Doug Freeman of the Weequahic Park Sports Authority, who said the county has "done a great job keeping the fields and facilities in the park updated."

Other fans of the upgrades include Weequahic High School baseball coach Charles Alexander and Weequahic High School athletic director Sharif Battle.

"I'm excited to get our players onto this field now that I see it's finished," Battle said.

There may be more improvements coming for the area in the future, county officials said. Other upgrades being planned include the creation of a new baseball field with a synthetic grass infield surface and natural grass outfield and the construction of a new maintenance garage off Elizabeth Avenue.

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