On Wednesday, May 16, 2018, City Council passed a resolution to allow former Surf owner Frank Boulton to seek an ownership group to bring a baseball team back to Atlantic City, NJ. Atlantic City used to have a baseball team called the Surf which played from 1998 to 2009 before folding.
The Surf was part of the inaugural Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 1998, their first season, they hosted the first All-Star Game in which they won the championship defeating the Bridgeport Bluefish three games to one. In later years, the Surf left the Atlantic League and joined the Can-Am League before folding in 2009.
The Surf was not the only team playing in Atlantic City that had success. The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies also won the ECHL Kelly Cup in 2003; their success still couldn’t draw good attendance on a weekly basis even when the team was affiliated with the New York Islanders. After their final season in Atlantic City in 2005, the team moved to Stockton, CA and was renamed Stockton Thunder.
Another team that played for one year in Atlantic City was the Atlantic City Cardsharks of the old NIFL League. In the 2004 season, they lost their only playoff game to the Lexington Horsemen. The Cardsharks folded after the 2004 season, right around the time the Boardwalk Bullies left and five years later the Surf folded. Atlantic City was left without a sports team.
In 2017, a new team called the Atlantic City FC of the NPSL league formed and announced that they would play their home games at Stockton University beginning in May 2018. Atlantic City FC would be the first team in Atlantic City in nine years. The only way for baseball or any other sports league to survive in Atlantic City is by partnering with Stockton University.
The best example, in this case, is to look at Montclair State University. In 1998, they built a baseball stadium on their campus and named it after Yogi Berra. This stadium is used by their college baseball team and, the New Jersey Jackals which is a team that plays in the Can-Am Baseball League.
When a professional baseball team partners with a local college they both benefit. They share the cost of maintaining the stadium, generate a larger audience and give college players a chance to interact with a professional team.
Surf Stadium is not the place to be anymore regardless of the upgrades. Situated on the outskirts of Atlantic City in the inlet, the stadium is in poor shape, has a bug problem, transportation and safety issues.
So before looking to bring in a new professional team to use a stadium, they need to address finding a new location that is safe, well-maintained and provides a friendly atmosphere to its audience. Stockton University could be just that place.
