Can Hinchliffe Stadium schedule conflicts be resolve?
By: Joe Maninconico
Paterson Press
PATERSON - Conflicts could be looming over the event schedule at Hinchliffe Stadium after the Board of Education unanimously voted on April 1 [2026] to reserve use of the historic ballpark for the district for almost all of May and June. [2026]
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The New Jersey Jackals minor league baseball team has 23 home games scheduled at Hinchliffe during May and June. [2026] The New York cosmos soccer team has two matches in Paterson during those months. The Jersey Shore Wave women's football team has a game at Hinchliffe on May 16. [2026]
..... The school board also approved a calendar booking Hinchliffe for 180 days for the next year, [2026-2027] which starts July 1. [2026] It's not clear how many additional, schedule conflicts there would be during the remainder of the Jackals and Cosmos' 2026 seasons, because the school district has not yet released the 2026-2027 calendar the broad approved.
..... "We're just looking for our fair share," school board member Hector Nieves said when asked about the impending schedule conflicts.
..... Nieves said there was no need for the teams to cancel games on days reserved by the district. he said the owners of the Cosmos and Jackals could simply pay the fees required of for-profit organizations that want to use Hinchliffe on days already booked by the district. The cost is $4,000 for a four-hour block and $7,500 for an eight-hour session.
..... Bays Adofo-Wilson, the developer who rehabbed the long-dormant stadium and one of the owners of the Cosmos and Jackals, could not be reached for comment. Mayor Andre Sayegh - the cheerleader-in-chief for Hinchliffe - did not respond when asked about the impending schedule conflicts.
..... The Paterson school district owns Hiinchliffe and has a lease signed in May 2021 with the stadium's operators, essentially Adofo-Wilson, putting in place conditions for the sue of the national landmark stadium. Hinchliffe reopened in May 2023 after being closed for more than 25 years.
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The lease says the district and the tenants would each submit by June 1 [2026] a schedule of dates for their preferred use of the stadium for the upcoming school calendar year.
..... "In the event the is a conflict between the two usage lists, use by the Landlord shall have priority," says the lease.
..... The deal allows the district to reserve a maximum of 180 days per year. The lease includes a clause covering last-minute reservation of Hinchliffe.
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"Either party may at any time upon reasonable notice to the other request a specific date not previously scheduled by either party, and, if such date is mutually agreeable to both parties, such date shall be scheduled as a special supplemental event," says the agreement.
..... The lease also requires the stadium operator to conduct an annual audit and submit a copy of the financial report to the district. The audit for Hinchliffe's 2024 operations showed the stadium with a $1.2 million deficit.
..... In January, [2026] the state Legislature in a lame-duck session voted to provide $4 million to the Hinchliffe operators to pay for better lighting inside the stadium's inner concourse as well as special effects lighting for the scoreboard.
..... The rehabilitation of Hinchliffe was part of a $110 million project, one largely funded through public tax credits to spur economic development in Paterson. along with the rebuilt, 8,000-seat ballpark, the project included the constructions of a 75-unit senior citizen apartment building, a 315-space parking garage and a new museum.
..... Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. email: editor@patersonpress.com