28 Aug ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES UPGRADES TO THE FOOTBALL/SOCCER FIELD AND RUNNING TRACK IN ESSEX COUNTY WEEQUAHIC PARK
Published on August 28, 2025
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced that the football/soccer field and the rubberized running track in the Rev. Ron Christian Athletic Complex in Essex County Weequahic Park in Newark were modernized with new playing surfaces on Tuesday, August 26th. The improvements are part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to revitalize parks and recreation facilities to ensure they meet the changing needs of the community.
“High schools, municipal recreation programs, community organizations and the general public rely on Essex County and our sports facilities for quality places to play. The upgrades we made will ensure the field and track are able to meet the needs of athletes of all ages,” DiVincenzo said. “I appreciate Governor Phil Murphy and the state DCA making this investment in Essex County and helping us keep our parks and recreation facilities up to date,” he added.
“The investment made into this complex to create premiere athletic fields demonstrates our commitment to meeting the needs of the community,” Senate Majority Leader and Deputy Chief of Staff Teresa Ruiz said.
“The improvements made here will be beneficial for all the youth organizations and community members who use the field and track,” Commissioner Brendan Gill said.
“This athletic complex has brought so many people together and has become a place where people can enjoy themselves. Thank you to the County Executive for enabling this space to thrive,” Newark Council President C. Lawrence Crump said.
“We appreciate the County Executive’s efforts to make the field and track improvements a reality. This is a job well done for our children and the community,” Newark Councilman Patrick Council said.
The football/soccer field and running track at the Rev. Ron Christian Athletic Complex were created in 2016 and needed to be updated because of regular wear and tear. This is the first time the surfaces have been replaced. The complex is named for the late Rev. Ron Christian, pastor of Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington.
The improvements were designed in-house by the Essex County Department of Public Works, which also monitored the project to ensure delays were avoided. American Athletic Track and Turf, Inc. from Southampton, N.J., was awarded a publicly bid contract for $1,577,400 million to perform the construction work. Essex County received a $1 million grant from the NJ Division of Community Affairs and a $577,400 grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund to fund the project. The project was awarded in March and completed in six months.
Revitalizing Essex County Weequahic Park
Other upgrades being planned is the creation of a new baseball field with a synthetic grass infield surface and natural grass outfield and the construction of a new maintenance garage off of Elizabeth Avenue.
Earlier this year, the walking track around Weequahic Lake was resurfaced and named in honor of Weequahic Park Association founder Wilbur McNeil and new outdoor exercise equipment was installed. In 2024, the basketball courts and tennis courts were resurfaced. In 2022, the Little League Field off of Elizabeth Avenue received a new synthetic grass surface. In 2021, the Feldman “Mootsie” Middleton, Jr. Community Center was replaced with a 15,000-square-foot modern building. In 2018, the Elizabeth Avenue playground was modernized with new apparatus and a rubberized safety surface and the restroom building was renovated. In 2017, The First Tee facilities were upgraded and the entranceway, parking lot and field house were modernized at Weequahic Golf Course as part of a $3.1 million project. In 2016, one of the baseball fields was modernized with a synthetic grass playing surface, new fencing and scoreboard and named in honor of the late Bill Hicks, a long-time little league and high school baseball coach. Also in 2016, the community center was named in honor of Feldman Middleton, Jr., one of the founders of the Weequahic Park Association and the Weequahic Park Sports Authority, and the playground was named in honor of activist Carl Sharif. In 2015, the playground by Building 92 was modernized with new equipment and a rubberized safety surface. In 2012, the four entrances to Weequahic Park received a facelift with traffic islands, lighting, paving and landscaping to beautify the area and enhance pedestrian and traffic safety, and the basketball courts were named in honor of the late Delano Gordon, founder of Above the Rim. Essex County partnered with the National Football League to install a new half-mile fitness course with six exercise stations in 2010. Weequahic Golf Course received a major overhaul in 2009 as part of $7 million modernization project in each of the County’s three public golf courses and the Weequahic Bridge was reconstructed for $3 million. A synthetic grass surface baseball field and four basketball courts were developed as part of a $1.8 million project in 2007. Essex County welcomed The First Tee and its nationally recognized youth leadership training program to Weequahic Golf Course in 2006. The First Tee constructed a state-of-the-art, three-hole youth golf facility for its program adjacent to the golf course. The playground at Building 96 at the Chancellor Avenue entrance to the park was modernized with new equipment and rubberized safety surface in 2006. The Elizabeth Avenue tennis courts were rebuilt in 2004.
DiVincenzo has partnered with the New Jersey Green Acres program, the NJ Department of Transportation, the Essex County Parks Foundation, Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Board, Weequahic Park Association and The First Tee to secure grants to fund the improvements in Essex County Weequahic Park.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system in the United States. It has been expanded to include about 6,000 acres of land and includes 20 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, miniature golf course, five dog parks, a castle, Treetop Adventure Course and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Weequahic Park is 311.33 acres, is one of the original five County parks created in 1895 and is the second largest park in the Essex County System.