SJ Sports: Home Sweet Home

The athletic teams at Rutgers University-Camden have been veritable nomads for decades. For years the Scarlet Raptors, like their predecessors known as the Pioneers, played "home" games at various sites throughout South Jersey, spanning a wide range of venues throughout Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.

The wandering days are over, however, and now the Scarlet Raptors have gone from rags to riches. Last season the Raptors' baseball, softball and soccer teams are playing at their own on-campus facilities in Camden. "For the first time in the history of the campus, we have outside support facilities for athletics, which includes Campbell's Field for baseball and Rutgers-Camden Community Park for men's and women's soccer and softball," said Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director Dr. Ed Cialella.

Campbell's Field opened in May 2001 as the home field of the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. And beginning with the 2002 season, the picturesque ballpark on the banks of the Delaware River also will serve as the home of the Scarlet Raptors.

Rutgers-Camden Community Park, in the shadow of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, is a $5.2-million facility which covers 5.5 acres. It houses the school's softball and soccer fields, in addition to tennis courts, a children's playground and a Little League complex. Approximately 3.5 acres are covered with the revolutionary Montreal-based FieldTurf synthetic turf, which looks, acts and plays like natural grass. It is the largest single application of FieldTurf in the world, and the surface has drawn rave reviews from the Rutgers-Camden staff, as well as opposing teams and the news media.

"We love it," said the Scarlet Raptors women's soccer coach Brian Sheehan, whose team played the first regular-season game on the field Aug. 31 in a 4-2 win over Delaware Valley College. "The field is so good that the girls get spoiled when they go to away fields. "We had the (high school) Coaches Tournament final and the South Jersey all-star games on it and we've gotten positive reviews from everybody," Sheehan said. The park, designed by the Burlington, New Jersey-based firm of Lord, Anderson, Worrell and Barnett, has been nominated for the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association's Excellence in Design Awards to be held March 19. This annual honor, now in it's 27th year, is bestowed upon New Jersey's top recreational facilities in four different size categories. The honor has been awarded since 1978 and Lord, Anderson, Worrell and Barnett has designed six award-winning parks since 1993.

"The surface, the lights and the whole surroundings are really nice, but the atmosphere created by the bridge and the city skyline make it special," Rutgers-Camden men's soccer coach Greg Ogden said. "We had the Coaches Tournament finals here and there were about 900 people. Everyone loved it."

The facility has also hosted the South Jersey and state all-star soccer games, and has made a believer out of people like long-time Holy Cross High School boys coach Dennis Guida. "It's a great playing surface," said Guida, who also serves as the secretary of the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association and is on the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association's soccer committee. "Both all-star games were the best ones I've ever seen. There was a lot of short passing, and the ball didn't run away from you. The kids put together a nice game and I have to think that the surface had a lot to do with it." Not only does the surface play like real grass, it is also durable, giving the field another advantage. "As a coach, what I like about the facility is that we get to practice on the same field," Ogden said.

That combination of a superb practice surface, which doubles as an outstanding venue on game days, also has been introduced to the Rutgers-Camden baseball team. This fall the Scarlet Raptors were able to practice at Campbell's Field, which sits directly across Delaware Avenue from the west end of the soccer field. The ballpark offers a view of the Philadelphia skyline across the Delaware River to the west, and the Ben Franklin Bridge directly beyond the outfield fence. The park dimensions are 325 down both lines, 405 to center field and 416 to right-center. It has a capacity of 6,425.

"The stadium and the soccer complex together gives us facilities on campus that are arguably the best facilities in the mid-Atlantic region," said Rutgers-Camden baseball coach Keith Williams, who no longer has to play his "home" games in Cinnaminson. "It wasn't the academics or the area, it was the (lack of) facilities," that made recruiting so difficult, noted Williams, whose 2000 team still managed to win a school-record 21 games. "The benefit of having an on-campus facility is that our athletes are proud to play here. The combination of winning and having new facilities has woken people up to notice that Rutgers-Camden is a great place to play."

It's a long way from the days of negotiating with other towns for athletic facilities, maintaining off-campus fields and adjusting them to NCAA standards. One person who won't miss those hassles is Jeff Dean, the school's Assistant Director of Recreational Services, whose responsibilities include field management and preparation. "It makes life a ton easier and a lot more fun for everybody — the staff and the students," said Dean, who also served five seasons as the Rutgers-Camden baseball coach from 1994-98. "It's sad that the alumni weren't able to enjoy it while they were here, but they can come back for alumni games." This time it will be a true Homecoming, not a nomadic exercise. "It's been a long time coming," Dean said, "but it's better late than never."

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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Author: SJ Sports Club-Mike Ballard