A reopening ceremony was held for the historic Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson on Friday.

Once vacant and overgrown, Hinchliffe Stadium has been transformed, thanks to a $100 million renovation project.

Baseball legends, Hollywood celebrities and politicians like Sen. Cory Booker were all in attendance at the reopening ceremony.

“Amazing things are happening in Paterson. This is one of the amazing things that has happened,” said actress Whoopi Goldberg.

“This is what baseball does. Baseball brings all of us together,” said former MLB player and manager, Omar Minaya.

During the segregated days of baseball, players like Satchel Paige, Larry Doby and Monte Irvin played at Hinchliffe on what was then known as the Negro Leagues.

Minaya believes those baseball greats would be happy to see the gathering.

“They may not be with us physically, but they're smiling,” said Minaya. The redevelopment of Hinchliffe Stadium, which includes senior housing, a parking garage and a museum, was a passion project for Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh and Paterson developer Baye Adofo-Wilson.

“If you build it, they will come. We have built Hinchliffe Stadium back again and we are here,” said Sayegh.

Former pro-second baseman Harold Reynolds wants Hinchliffe to inspire the young people of Paterson, especially people of color, to dream big and go far.

“It is about Paterson, it is about these young people out here,” he said. “My mom used to tell us; big goals produce big results. Little goals produce little results."

Minor league baseball is set to return to the stadium on Saturday. Hinchliffe is now the new home stadium for the Jersey Jackals.

The official website of Major League baseball says that will be the first professional baseball game played at Hinchliffe since 1950.