April 21, 2007
Mercer County Waterfront Park (Capacity: 6,341)
Trenton, NJ
Trenton Thunder vs Binghamton Mets
Final Score: 7 – 4
* The ballpark was renamed Trenton Thunder Ballpark
** A revisit was made on September 11, 2013
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The capital of New Jersey is Trenton, located in the central part of the state, right along the Delaware River. The city is a small one with a population of 85,000 and despite the history here, it’s a place more known for a poor reputation of crime and run-down areas. Nearly 40 years after the city’s last professional team, baseball returned in 1994 as the London franchise in the Double-A Eastern League relocated to the Garden State. After a strange seven year affiliation with the Boston Red Sox (a team certainly not associated with the area), Trenton joined up with the Yankees in 2003. It was a beautiful early spring day for our visit in April of 2007 and then my return in 2013 was for a playoff game. The would go on to that one and then win their third league championship the following night. After some initial delays opening, Mercer County Waterfront Park debuted in 1994 and their home stadium is typical of a ballpark in the Northeast
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
As the name implies, the ballpark sits on the waterfront of the Delaware River. Some re-development has taken place in this area, but it is mainly in the form of office buildings and complexes as there is just one lone restaurant within walking distance. At the least, it’s better than some of the rundown neighborhoods not too far away. Trenton’s State House is a five minute drive to the north and that complex includes the New Jersey State Museum. It’s not one of the top state museums that I’ve visited.
Location Ranking: 4.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Mercer County Waterfront Park is right on Route 29, which is accessed via Route 1 (the city’s freeway-like thoroughfare). A much easier route is to come from the north (I-95) or south (I-295). It is quite easy to reach the park and while regional traffic certainly can be congested, the local traffic wasn’t terrible. Parking lots are found in front of the stadium on a little side street (Thunder Road) with both surface lots and a garage. A local light rail from the Trenton Transit Center provides another option as the stop on Cass Street is four blocks from the ballpark. NJ Transit trains come in to the Transit Center on the NE Corridor line. Be aware that this only runs until 10 PM on weeknights.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7 out of 8
Exterior
Waterfront Park features an exterior very common to 1990s ballparks: red brick and green roofing. At least this one has some purpose as the main entrance somewhat resembles a train station. Similar to the city’s arena. The box office sits under an awning, while above that is the face of the stadium, including the ballpark name. A semi-circle forms the shape of the stadium, which extends much more to the right of the main entrance. There is also a really nice and open plaza out front that eventually leads to a walkway down the river.
Exterior Ranking: 7.5 out of 10
Concourse
After climbing one of two sets of long stairs, fans reach the covered concourse. Most of the concourse is open to a view of the playing field, except for directly behind home plate, where the press box is located. Lots of eye candy in terms of displays and the whole area is nice and clean. One issue though is that there is only one set of bathrooms, which is not a lot, no matter how large the inside is. Beyond the roof cover, the concourse continues in the open air with more food stands and some kids’ activities. It does get narrow in this area as well. For a closer view of the water, the walkway towards the right field pole allows for that. There is no wrap-around to the outfield.
Concourse Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Food
A really nice variety of food options included a sampling of the several regions impacting Trenton (Philly, Jersey and NYC). Featured were Cheesesteaks, Italian Dogs and a personal new favorite of mine since moving to the Garden State: the Pork Roll. My revisit in 2013 featured additional offerings like Philadelphia Water Ice, Boomers BBQ and a whole stand on healthy food. Beer options included several local products.
Food Ranking: 7 out of 8
Interior
One level of seats were split in the middle by a walkway that extended on both sides just into the outfield. Individual seats were a faded green color and cup holders could be found only on the lower sections. Along with the middle walkway being pointless, I did not like the shallow pitch to the seating bowl, which makes one feel further from the field. Heads get in the way and it really is a poor sightline. At the end of the third-base side is a multi-level picnic section. Perched over the concourse is a long stretch of luxury suites, while the press box sits in a building between the suite level and seating bowl. The Delaware River does come into view just beyond Right Field, but it’s too bad the ballpark couldn’t be turned a little more to face the water. While they left open that section to see the river in spite of tree overgrowth, the rest of the outfield is stacked with advertisements.
Interior Ranking: 6 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard in right really stands out as it is in the form of a huge widescreen. Despite the size and newness, it isn’t as clear as one would expect. Still a good scoreboard though and they use it well enough for replays.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3.5 out of 4
Displays
The field is named after Samuel Plumeri, father of Thunder owner Joe. In front of the park is a lovely dedication of Mr. Plumeri watching a ballgame with kids. Hanging from the ceiling of the concourse are several banners chronicling achievements in the franchise’s history, along with a list of major league players through the years on one of the walls. More players are honored inside where the wall of the suite level contains three retired numbers (#5 for Nomar Garciaparra, #33 for Tony Clark and #2 for David Eckstein), along with Jackie Robinson’s. Pennants are also located here for the team’s league titles.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
Seats were $10 or $12, while the parking cost $3, making for a typical minor-league experience. Concessions were a tad on the higher end of things, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
Families made up most of the crowd for our first visit and it looked like about 2,000 or so in attendance. Not great for one of the first real nice days of the season. Trenton is traditionally one of the better drawing teams in the Eastern League, ranking in the top third. They certainly aren’t setting the league ablaze though and the playoffs solidified that as they were lucky if even 1,000 people were there.
Fan Support Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
The first time here, there was hardly any baseball-related noise from the crowd. Applause was scant and it almost seemed like no one was really paying attention to the game. Even as the home team took a no-hitter into the late innings, few noticed or cheered the outs as it got closer. Upon return for the playoffs, it started quiet again. At least this time they worked themselves into the game and made some real noise during the late innings as evidence below.
Atmosphere Ranking: 7 out of 14
Other Stuff
The ballpark was delayed in opening for several weeks as a number of factors were in play with the main one being a harsh winter. Additionally, the field never truly settled and there were many drainage issues during the season. The problem was fixed in 1995…..Cute is not necessarily a word thrown around at a sporting event, but I could not help feel that way after watching Chase, a Golden Retriever that fetched discarded bats during early innings. He has been a fixture at games since 2002 and certainly is a big hit with fans.
Game (Initial Visit)
Trenton jumped out to a 7-0 lead after five innings and was led by fantastic pitching from Brad Smith who went 7 innings with NO hits, 4 walks and 7 strikeouts. Unfortunately, management would not send him out for the 8th to go for a no-hitter. Sometimes minor-league baseball can be really aggravating. The Thunder still had a combined no-hitter heading into the 9th, until Geraldo Casadiego not only blew that, but nearly the game. He gave up four runs in the final frame, however, Trenton hung on for the 7-4 win.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
