Roosevelt Stadium (Union City)

Roosevelt Stadium is a former American outdoor sports facility located in Union City, New Jersey. The stadium was built in 1936 and demolished in 2005 so Union City High School could be built on the site. After the school was built, its athletic complex was also named Roosevelt Stadium; the current field is located atop the school.

It is not to be confused with the former baseball park of the same name in neighboring Jersey City, New Jersey.

Originally the site of the Hudson County Consumers Brewery Company, the property was purchased by what is now Union City for $456,000 USD, and turned it into a gated playground. Later, through the efforts of Director of Public Affairs Harry J. Thourot, the stadium’s construction was funded by the federal Works Progress Administration Project, which awarded the project $172,472 USD, as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Construction began on the stadium in 1936, with 350 men. Built in the art deco style, and modeled after the Colosseum and arenas of ancient Greece and Rome, the ribbon-cutting ceremony that opened it was held on November 25, 1937.

The stadium was bounded on the east by Summit Avenue and on the west by Kerrigan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard (formerly Hudson Boulevard) between 24th and 26th Streets. Roosevelt Stadium stood 15 rows deep, and initially housed 7,000 people, with subsequent renovations enlarging that capacity to 11,000 and ultimately 18,000. The stadium also featured a tool house, dressing rooms, and a cafeteria.

Primarily a football stadium, future National Football League greats Lou Cordileone and Frank Winters played during their high school days at Roosevelt Stadium, as did College Football Hall of Famer Ed Franco. However, Roosevelt also housed events in semi-pro baseball, soccer, track, boxing, as well as numerous special events, from tractor pulls, concerts, carnivals and Fourth of July fireworks shows to an exhibition baseball game featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

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