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Year Opened 1926 Current Team Affiliate League Capacity My Grades Photos taken in 2001 & 1996 & 1998 |
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Newburgh, New York |
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| Delano-Hitch was the home of the Newburgh Night Hawks of the Northeast Baseball League from 1995-96 and the Newburgh Black Diamonds of the Atlantic League in 1998. A fine facility for such a low level of the minors - certainly better than some parks currently in use in the New York-Penn League and Northern League. Unfortunately it has been the home of teams with poor management and uncertain futures. The park received some major renovations after the 1998 season. A new building was constructed along the first base line that houses the clubhouses as well as a concession stand. Also included in the renovation was the removal of the rickety wooden bleachers that were down both foul lines. They were replaced by individual folding chairs on a metal grandstand. They really did a nice job of blending the new sections into the existing covered grandstand. A new pressbox was added before the '98 season. Also added for the '98 season was a manual scoreboard in right field. It really adds a nice touch to the park. The field is currently the only problem with this park - it is very uneven, especially in the outfield. Definitely a pitchers park with big dimensions, though it seemed to be a great triples park as the ground is hard, and balls get to the gaps very quickly. Concessions and souvenirs were set up out behind the grandstand on a grassy knoll. The future for baseball at Delano-Hitch does not look bright. There have been no rumors of Newburgh getting a team since the Black Diamonds left after the '98 season. With an ownership group that cared and promoted the team properly, I am confident that a team could draw 2,000 fans a game from this well populated area. A college league team has been using the park for the past few seasons, so at least it's getting some use. |
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