Bergen Cliff Hawks

Independent baseball team
name = Bergen Cliff Hawks
founded =
city = East Rutherford, New Jersey

cap
current league = Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
division =
past league =
currentname = Bergen Cliff Hawks
pastnames =
nickname =
past league =
colors = Burgundy, Black, White, Beige
ballpark = Bergen Ballpark
pastparks =
leaguechamps =
divisionchamps =
owner = Steve Kalafer
manager =
gm =
media = The Record
website =

The Bergen Cliff Hawks are a proposed minor league baseball team to be based in Bergen County, New Jersey. The team plans to play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.

The team hoped to play at the Bergen Ballpark, located on the site of the Meadowlands Xanadu project. There is no timeline in place as the Bergen Cliff Hawks continue seemingly hopeless negotiations with the Mills Corporation over architectural planning and a lease for the ballpark. If talks do fail, the Cliff Hawks will search another site in the northern New Jersey area and another minor league baseball team will occupy the Bergen Ballpark at the Meadowlands.

The name "Cliff Hawks" refers to the raptors that inhabit the cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades which stretch through Bergen County.

History

East Rutherford, as all of Bergen County, is located adjacent to New York City. Bergen County does not have any professional baseball history of its own. Much of the fanbase for the New York Yankees and the New York Mets comes from the northern New Jersey area, and the city of Newark also has commanded attention for the older and newer inceptions of the Bears.

Since 2000 [cite web | title=Cliff Hawks trouble begins | work=Bergen.com | url=http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjYyNDM2NSZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM= | accessdate=July 25 | accessyear=2006] Steve Kalafer, a current investor of the Atlantic League, owner of the Newark Bears, and part-owner of the Camden Riversharks, has tried to bring a professional baseball team to northern New Jersey. Initially the plan was for a new stadium to be built at one of two sites in Overpeck County Park. Opposition in Leonia, Ridgefield Park, and Fort Lee halted the plan within a few months. Kalafer then turned his attention to a different Ridgefield Park site just east of the New Jersey Turnpike. That proposal stalled as the Bergen freeholders opposed the issuance of $20 million in bonds for the ballpark. Kalafer then worked with the Mills Corporation to build a ballpark in conjunction with its Meadowlands Xanadu project. Over a period of five years, talks have deteriorated between Kalafer and the Mills Corp. The company has reneged on its promise to build a ballpark and the Cliff Hawks are homeless. Even though the Mills Corp. is now actively looking to find another tenant for its ballpark, that plan is strongly opposed by New Jersey politicians. In the political spectrum, many representatives do not want yet another shopping mall. They are still trying to hold the Mills Corp. on its original promise of providing an entertainment venue, including the baseball stadium. In August 2008, Steve Kalafer agreed to drop the lawsuit against the Mills Corporation in lieu of the Meadowlands Developer Limited Partnership, the current ownership of the Xanadu Meadowlands complex, conducting a nine-month feasibility study for the ballpark. [ [http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080819/SPORTS0104/808190370/-1/sportsfront MyCentralJersey.com] ]

References

External links

Official websites

* [http://www.atlanticleague.com Atlantic League of Professional Baseball]

Blogs

* [http://www.atlanticleaguebaseball.com Atlantic League blog]
* [http://www.alindependent.com Atlantic League Independent]

Media

* [http://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/?t_id=1577 Cliff Hawks page at OurSports Central]