Surf Stadium is a 5,500-seat baseball stadium in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. that opened in 1998 and has been mostly closed since 2009, although some renovation was performed in 2011 and 2012.
[ The stadium was officially renamed as Surf Stadium in April 2012, and hosted a few events in 2012.][ The stadium was called The Sandcastle until 2006, and has continued to be referred to by that name in some sources.][ It was built as the home of the Atlantic City Surf baseball team, which discontinued operations prior to the 2009 season. College and youth][Baseball is back at Atlantic City's Surf Stadium with start of Babe Ruth tournament]
'' Press of Atlantic City'', Aug. 3, 2012 teams have also used the stadium, and a music concert was held there in 2011.
The stadium is located on Albany Avenue, near the eastern terminus of U.S. Routes 40 and 322
__NOTOC__
Year 322 ( CCCXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probianus and Iulianus (or, less frequently, year 1075 ' ...
and several blocks inland from the Boardwalk
A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...
and casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
strip. The casinos are visible from the seating areas.
Seating is in two primary sections, split by a "cross aisle". Luxury boxes are located above the main seating bowl.
It is now the home stadium of the Atlantic Cape Community College Buccaneers baseball team.
History
1998-2008
The stadium, originally known as The Sandcastle, opened in 1998 on a parcel located on the sprawling Bader Field
Bader Field , also known as Atlantic City Municipal Airport, was a city-owned public-use general aviation airport located in Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. It was approximately one mile from the terminus of U.S. R ...
, a closed municipal airport. When the park first opened, the seating sections were named for the various properties on the U.S. version of the Monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
board, which took its names from the streets of Atlantic City and surrounding towns. However, saying "I'm sitting in Pacific Avenue" was not sufficiently descriptive, and so the seating sections were assigned numbers, as at most other stadiums. In 2006, the Bernie Robbins jewelry chain purchased the naming rights and the stadium was renamed as "Bernie Robbins Stadium".
Surf Stadium (then known as Bernie Robbins Stadium) played host to the Atlantic League All-Star Game in 1998 and 2005 as well as to various amateur baseball events and concerts. In October 2006, it was the venue for Atlantic regional qualifying for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...
. In May 2008, WCAU-TV sports director and former NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player Vai Sikahema
Vai Sikahema (born 29 August 1962) is a former professional football player and broadcaster, who has served as a general authority seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2021.
Of Tongan descent, he ...
accepted an open challenge from former MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player Jose Canseco
José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oaklan ...
to fight him in a celebrity boxing match for $5,000. Canseco claims to have earned black belts in Kung Fu, Taekwondo, and Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
, while Sikahema, who grew up wanting to be a professional boxer, had once fought in a National Golden Gloves Championship that was eventually won by Sugar Ray Leonard. The fight, dubbed the "War At The Shore", took place on July 12, 2008, and was hosted by Philadelphia-native adult film personality Steven Sheaffer. Sikahema won by knockout in the first round.
2009-Present
After the stadium closed, its condition seriously deteriorated due to lack of maintenance and vandalism.Crowds, players long gone from abandoned Atlantic City baseball stadium
'' Press of Atlantic City'', Nov. 28, 2010. However, the abandoned stadium received considerable restoration in 2011 to prepare it to be used as a VIP area for a three-day musical festival headlined by the Dave Matthews Band that was held at the former Bader Field airport. Most of the improvements focused on repairing the facility's fire-suppression system and plumbing, as well as rejuvenating the field itself. The stadium was used for VIP seating for special ticket holders for the festival, and for a "Summer Fest" concert featuring rapper Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
.[Atlantic City's Sandcastle Stadium Officially Renamed Surf Stadium]
'' Press of Atlantic City'', April 12, 2012 and after additional renovation work, a youth baseball league tournament was held there in August 2012.[Regional tournament brings baseball back to Surf Stadium]
, ''Shore News Today'', Aug. 1, 2012.
See also
* Bader Field Airport
* Bader Field (ballpark)
References
{{Reflist
Buildings and structures in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Tourist attractions in Atlantic County, New Jersey
Minor league baseball venues
Sports venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey
1998 establishments in New Jersey
Sports venues completed in 1998
College baseball venues in the United States