| Yogi Berra Stadium is home to the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League. It is located on the campus of Montclair State University. The park resides at the top of the campus, and is built into a bowl. A large office building provides the backdrop in centerfield. The majority of the seats are individual folding chairs, while the remaining ones are benches with backs. In addition there is a large grassy berm in right field for the overflow crowd or which is more commonly used for restless kids to run around or roll down the hill. For such a new ballpark, the sightlines are surprisingly not that great. The seats do not seem to be sloped enough and there are lots of metal rails that can obstruct the view. Also, the seating is a bit cramped. A rather ordinary scoreboard is located in left field. In the early years, it seemed that the Jackals had forgotten the purpose of the park - to host a baseball game. After every play a movie clip was played, and after almost every pitch a sound effect of some kind wass blared through the loudspeakers. Fortunately as of 2008, they have now toned it down a bit and it is a more relaxing place to see a game. One complaint I do have here is the presence of an arcade room off the concoure area - this just doesn't belong at a ballpark. In addition to the ballpark, the Yogi Berra Museum is housed in a building adjacent to the first base line. It is a small, but nice museum dedicated to the Hall Of Fame catcher. It features almost of all his significant artifacts (including gloves, bats, and MVP awards). The museum which overlooks the field has one luxury box which Yogi uses on occasion. The first floor of the museum is used as a gift shop and concession stand for the park. Concessions are average, both in quality and price. Besides the normal ballpark fare, cheese steaks, sausages, and chicken salad wraps are offered. Unfortunately, the team only finds it necessary to open one concession stand during most games, meaning one is closed up giving the park a more depressing feel. Despite being a relatively new park, Yogi Berra Stadium is in need of some serious upkeep. I'm not sure who is responsible for it, but it is clearly lacking. Many of the structures (the press box, concession stands, and dugouts) appear to be quite dirty and could use a washing. Or at least the team could thrown up some banners to cover the barren concrete that has become worn over the years. The Jackals are a decent draw, but I fear without some basic upkeep on the ballpark, people may stop coming. This ballpark was once the jewel of the Can-Am League (formerly the Northern League), but it has been overtaken by almost all the other parks in the league now. Yogi Berra Stadium is still a decent place to see a game, but has been dropping in my rankings over the past several years.
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