Campbell's Field - History

History

Ground was broken for the ballpark on June 15, 1999, with former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman in attendance. Campbell's Field was funded by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, a loan from the Delaware River Port Authority, a grant from Rutgers University, and private financing obtained by the builder, Quaker Construction. During construction, the stadium was owned by the Cooper's Ferry Development Association. Upon completion, it became the property of Rutgers, which signed a lease with Camden Baseball, LLC to operate the stadium in conjunction with the Atlantic League.

The new ballpark involved a $24 million construction project that included $7 million for environmental remediation costs. Prior to construction, Campbell’s Field was a vacant, undeveloped parcel of land that historically housed businesses that included the Campbell Soup Company Plant No. 2, Pennsylvania & Reading Rail Road’s Linden Street Freight Station, David Baird & Company’s lumber mill and Eavenson & Sons’ soap manufacturing company.

Campbell's Field opened in May 2001, and was one of the projects designed to spark urban renewal in Camden. The ballpark was honored in 2003 by DigitalBallparks.com and in 2004 by Baseball America as the "Ballpark of the Year." Campbell's Field has been honored with several local awards, including the Camden County Improvement Authority Entertainment Award in 2000, the International Masonry Institute Golden Trowel Award in 2001, the Urban Land Institute's Award for Excellence in 2002, the Downtown New Jersey Excellence Award, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association Good Neighbor Award, and the Distinguished Award for Engineering Excellence given by the Consulting Engineers Council of New Jersey in 2003.

In April 2009, Campbell Soup announced that it would continue to have its name on the ballpark at least through 2020.

In 2011 Campbell's Field is where the United States national rugby league team achieved victory in the Atlantic pool of 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying, booking the nation's first ever Rugby League World Cup appearance.

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