Hinchliffe had deficit of $1.2M for 2024
It was first full year of events since reopening
By: Joe Malinconico
Paterson Press
PATERSON - Historic Hinchliffe Stadium rang up a $2.4 million operating deficit in 2024, the national landmark's first full year of events after being closed since the 1990s. an audit of the stadium's finances obtained by Paterson Press showed Hinchliffe had $1.6 million in operating expenses last ear, [2024] while it generated $377,860 in revenue.
..... the stadium's budget gap was even larger considering its $339,774 in interest costs for the debt incurred to renovate a ballpark where trees had been growing through the grandstand after two decades of neglect.
..... Mayor Andre Sayegh has touted the Hichliffe reopening as part of his plan to revitalize Paterson by making the area around the Great Falls a tourist destination. But so far, very few events at the 8,000-seat stadium - home to the New Jersey Jackals minor legal baseball team and Jersey Shore Wave women's football squad - have attracted large crowds. Sayegh pointed to the impending arrival of two professional soccer teams in 2026 and 2027 as an important way to address Hinchliffe's deficit.
..... "The stadium was closed for 26 years. People are still getting re-acclimated to it being reopened," the mayor said.
..... Baye Adofo-Wilson, part of the development team that renovated the stadium and runs events there, said about $800,000 of the operating deficit was covered with money from a $4.4 million reserve account. The rest, the developer said. "came out of our pockets."
..... "We planned for a slow start,' said Adefo-Wilson, stating that was the whole reason for creating a reserve account. "But it;s not sustainable," he said of the operating deficit. "That's why we need more events, more activities at Hinchliffe Stadium."
..... The $110 million project - primarily funded with public money - included the renovation of the ballpark, the construction of a senior Citizen housing building, a 317-space parking garage, and a new museum and restaurant. the finances include an $8.9 million fee for the developers, including $5.3 million for which the payment was deferred.
..... during its final year of construction, Hinchliffe needed $8 million in extra funding from state government to cover its costs. But the builders ran out of money before they could finish the restaurant area, which remains empty.
..... The audit - required as part of Paterson Public Schools' lease allowing the developers to operate Hinchliffe - covered only operations of the stadium and parking garage, not the housing.
..... The 2024 expenses listed in the audit included $704,297 for "general and administrative," $334,989 for salaries, $272,098 for repairs and maintenance, and $167,151 for utilities.
..... Among the revenue sources named in the audit were $191,158 for "rental," which included the money form the Jackals lease, $108,665 fro parking fees, and $14,586 from concessions.
..... Councilman Michael Jackson said he would demand additional information about the operating expenses and said school board members should do the same. Jackson called the amount of money spent on repairs and maintenance "ridiculous" considering the stadium's reconstruction was finished in 2023. He said officials ought to get a breakdown of the spending under the "general and administrative line item.
..... "They have done nothing but given us ballooned numbers," Jackson said. "This is thievery at its best."
Developers to share any profits with school district
..... The lease between the school district - which owns Hinchliffe - and the developers includes an agreement to share any profits from its operations.
.....
Paterson Board of Education President Eddie Gonzalez did not respond to a message seeking his comments for this story. Board members Joel Ramirez and Kenneth Simmons said they were not surprised by the deficit.
..... "The project was never designed for the district and the stadium to make money," Simmons said. "I don't know where some people got the idea that it was going to generate millions of dollars." Simmons said he doesn't expect to see the stadium break even anytime soon, Ramirez said the empty seats at many stadium events made it clear during the past year [2024] that Hinchliffe was in the red.
..... "It's like any business when they start up - there are losses," Ramirez said. "When you go and see it, it's beautiful, but it costs money."
..... Ramirez said he hoped Hinchliffe would one day become "vibrant."
..... The recent audit also included a tabulation of Hinchliffe operating fiancees from the project's inception in July 2019 through the end of 2023. During that period, Hinchliff had a deficit of $607,371, the audit said.