Call it the reincarnation of Hinchliffe Stadium.

Abandoned and left vacant decades ago, the Negro Leagues ballpark in Paterson, N.J., is getting a makeover.

“It’s our field of dreams,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

Restoring Hinchliffe is part of a $94 million project in downtown Paterson that will include a 315-car parking garage and six-story apartment building for senior citizens.

It is being financed by state and federal tax credits and grants. The scheduled completion is August 2022.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held April 14 with former Negro Leaguers C.C. Sabathia, Willie Randolph and Harold Reynolds handling a shovel.

Also involved with the groundbreaking was Larry Doby Jr., son of Larry Doby Sr., a Paterson native and the first Black athlete to play in the American League—with the Cleveland Indians in 1947).  

Sabathia, a former New York Yankees pitcher with Hall of Fame credentials, suggested the nearby New York Yankees and New York Mets play an actual game at Hinchliffe once the project is complete. Paterson is about 29 miles from the Big Apple.

Constructed in 1932, Hinchliffe served as the home field for the New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans.

In 1933, Hinchliffe Stadium hosted the Colored Championship of the Nation, the equivalent of the Negro League World Series.

Among the legendary Black baseball stars who played at Hinchliffe were Doby, Judy Johnson, Martin Dihigo, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Monte Irvin and Oscar Charleston.

In addition to baseball, Hinchliffe was used for boxing and auto racing and was the site of war bond rallies during World War II. Duke Ellington held one of his final concerts there.

Hinchliffe Stadium also was used for baseball and football by Paterson’s two high schools, Eastside High School – Doby’s alma mater—and Central High School.

The stadium essentially was shut down in the 1990s with virtually no upkeep. Its walls, scarred with graffiti, were crumbling. Trees and weeds were growing up through cracks in the bleachers.

The “new Hinchliffe” will seat 7,800 patrons and be used for sports and other entertainment.

The old Negro Leagues ballparks are on the endangered species list.

Among the few remaining in some capacity are Hamtramck Stadium near Detroit; League Park in Cleveland; Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.; J.P. Small Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.; and Cooper Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.