County government buying minor-league baseball park

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - An arm of the Camden County government is buying a financially struggling minor-league baseball stadium on the Camden waterfront.

The county announced Thursday that it has a deal for the Camden County Improvement Authority to buy 6,700-seat Campbell’s Field for $3.5 million.

The field, which is situated next to the Ben Franklin Bridge that connects Camden to Philadelphia, is technically owned by Rutgers University, and the Rutgers-Camden baseball team also plays there.

But the money will go to Santander Bank.

The bank holds the main loan for the stadium, which opened in 2001 and had a construction cost of $20.5 million.

The bank had sued the Camden Riversharks, the team that plays there, claiming the team owed it $4 million.

Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen says stadium revenue will be used to pay for the new deal, which is to close over the summer.

Over its history, the Riversharks, who play in the Atlantic League, have had some precarious times financially.

Teams in the Atlantic League are not affiliated with major-league teams, but many of the players have some big-league experience.

Frank Boulton, a co-owner and managing partner of the team, said there was never any doubt that the team would play the upcoming season, which is scheduled to start May 1.

He also said that the improvement authority should be able to upgrade the stadium in ways.

Rutgers-Camden is to continue playing at the stadium.