Newark Denied a Bid to Host Triple-A Yankees in 2012

by Alice Magdziak • September 28, 2011 • Sports & Leisure • Comments (0) • 1915

Newark Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium was turned down in a bid to move the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees into Newark for the 2012 season. Scranton’s stadium needs renovation so they’ve been looking for somewhere to have the team play for the whole season next year and Newark looked like the perfect place.

Photo: Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger

This would have meant lots of tax revenue for the city and state as well as a shot of income for local businesses as fans came to Newark to eat dinner and see a game. The Mets were actually the ones to turn down the plan because of an agreement that’s in place between the Yankees and Mets related to business in the tri-state area. Both teams agreed to give each other a veto on any decisions that would effect marketshare in the area. The Mets argued that moving the Triple-A Yankees to Newark would decrease marketshare for Mets games in the Queens’ CitiField.

Really? How would a Triple-A American League team have an effect on a Major League team in Queens? I’m an American League fan and I certainly wouldn’t go see the Brooklyn Cyclones if I couldn’t get Yankees tickets. Well, whatever the reason, the Yankees have said that they have to abide by the veto because they need to keep the veto power if the Mets ever decide to make some moves with their teams or stadiums.

This veto comes on the heels on a really fascinating article in the July 17th Star Ledger on the sad state of the Newark Bears. If you didn’t get a chance to read about the (Bad News) Newark Bears, you definitely should take a look. It’s a pretty long article so maybe you should even print it out.

Here’s the link to the most recent article about the Mets’ veto: Yankees’ minor league team in Newark would not impact Mets revenue, experts say | NJ.com.