Paterson honors baseball legend Larry Doby with multimillion-dollar renovated stadium
Calling it a “field of dreams,” officials celebrated the new facility with a special event.
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The $2.8 million revitalization is complete at Larry Doby Field at Eastside Park in Paterson. The city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday for the renovated field.
Calling it a “field of dreams,” officials celebrated the new facility with a special event.
"Whenever they step up to the plate, they gotta think about Larry Doby, his legacy, his leadership," said Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh.
The field is home to the Eastside High School baseball team, where Larry Doby was an alumnus.
The field features state-of-the-art synthetic turf for durability and high performance.
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"He deserves to have his name on a state-of-the-art multimillion-dollar facility," said Paterson Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz. "Every child, every athlete that steps on this field will always see Larry Doby's name."
Doby's name is displayed on both sidelines, along with his No. 14 engraved in center field.
Speakers at the event shared the importance of coming together to invest in the youth. The message was echoed by Doby's son.
"It was always important for him that the youth had a place to play, that they would go to school and educate themselves and become better citizens," said Larry Doby, Jr. "I can't think of a better thing that would make him happy than knowing people are going to get the same opportunities to play on fields like this, and hopefully go to college, and maybe make it to the pros one day."
Eastside High School will take the field for the first time next week on Wednesday, May 14.
