As Newark Stadium Closes, Mayor Quintana Looks To Future
NEWARK N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Newark's Minor League Baseball team is done for the season, and forever.
As WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported, the owners of the Newark Bears are shutting down the franchise, which means the 15-year-old publicly-financed stadium has no use.
Newark Mayor Luis Quintana said he wants to make sure that the stadium remains open to nearby colleges and the community.
"And you know, we respect that but, moving forward we're looking to look at a venue where colleges in the area, or NJIT, Rutgers, or Essex County College, will engage in having recreational events at this stadium," Quintana said.
The mayor said he'll even welcome high schools and little leagues to play there.
"I want to make sure also the community has a part of engaging within Bears Stadium -- a concert, all kinds of events," Quintana said.
The mayor vowed to make sure the stadium doesn't become an eye sore, especially since it was built with tax payers' money.
"The investment that has been made to that stadium. I want to make sure -- that was taxpayers' money that was utilized for that," Quintana said.
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