Sussex County Miners (Frontier League) @ Skylands Stadium (Augusta, NJ)

*This trip occurred on May 8, 2026.

Skylands Stadium in Augusta, NJ was built in 1994 for a New York-Penn League team that eventually left in 2005¹. An independent team started up the following year in the Can-Am League and then spent a few years there until folding in 2011. In 2015, the Sussex County Miners (i.e. the current team) were founded as a member of the Can-Am League and have been there since; they won a Can-Am League title in 2018 before moving to the Frontier League with the other surviving Can-Am teams when that league folded in 2020. Again, there's not much else in their history (thanks to the dominance of the Québec Capitales), but they were introduced at this game as division champions of their division for 2025.

I’ll be honest: I kinda like the charm of this place. Sure, it’s a bit of a hike and in a SUPER rural area (which lends itself to seeing certain...things), but the external parts of the stadium are largely "red wood" which gives it this “barn” like feel that is cool.

Most of the main concourse does not have views to/from the field due to the fact that, similar to Heritage Financial Park, seats are built over top of it. In fact, a lot of what I've said about that place applies, which makes sense given that the two stadiums were opened in the same year in the same league (both even feature bleacher seats high down the third base side). However, some of the more "luxury" features in the Hudson Valley (such as its premium area down the left field line) are more or less absent here - though that might be due to the park not having an affiliated team since 2005 (i.e. less reason to make renovations to keep an MLB team happy in 2020).

The left field line does feature a kids area, however, which had a carnival game, a "bouncy cow-stle", and one other feature I'll talk about later. Down the right field line, there's a picnic area plus tables from a restaurant (aptly named "The Barnyard") which is attached to the stadium (and open year round); I found out that the restaurant has tables INSIDE the stadium where you can get their full menu/service, but didn't inquire about sitting at one. The scoreboard here (I think) is the same make/model as the one in Wilmington but has a larger video board above it - though said video board was a bit glitchy for most of the night.

Much like the other Frontier League stops on this blog, I’d already been here LONG before this site existed - once in 2022, and again in 2024. However, I did NOT make a visit in 2025; there was one date that I almost came here, but something came up that prevented me from leaving². This year, I was originally thinking of going to a game in June, but due to other games I want to see the same weekend of that game, it became unlikely. However, with the rest of the Miners' schedule looking "unfriendly" based on my calendar for this summer, I ended up deciding to move my visit up and check out a Frontier League home opener for the second day in a row. Once again, I decided to get a front row seat - and this one actually ended up being a bit less than the front row seat I got for the Boulders game (and that's BEFORE factoring in parking - which is FREE at Skylands Stadium)!

Alas, I've been learning that Frontier League games are a bit on the slow side - I had to leave early for the second night in a row, as I didn't want to get home super late (and the game ended after 10 PM again). This one stings a LOT more than last night, however, as the Miners were down 3-0 when I left but ended up walk-off winners³ (I also missed a post game drone show). While a repeat visit is definitely a possibility (assuming Interstate 80 doesn't break open again and/or they don't have to repair a bridge on Route 15), I doubt it'll be another walk-off...

As a side note, the New Jersey Jackals also had their home opener tonight (which they lost FWIW), but I was never planning on going to that because...well...

P.S: I don't anticipate visiting any more new independent baseball teams anytime soon, as most of them are REALLY far (this does not include future Banana Ball games, as the jury is out on whether or not that counts as "independent baseball"). There is one team that I'm thinking of visiting later this year, however, but even they are quite a hike...

MERCH

Before I continue, I should mention the fact that the Miners are owned by the group that owned the New Jersey Jackals until this year (the two teams shared ownership for a while). If you recall what I said about the Jackals' old online store, the same applies here - it’s a spiritwear store that doesn’t sell a lot of the standard baseball fare and/or “official” team stuff (and I've recently learned that there are A LOT of smaller teams that seemingly go this route nowadays⁴).

Anyway, the team store here has the amazing name of “The Company Store” as a reference to the mining industry (though I'm a bit fuzzy on the exact details). Each time I've been here, there's been a change to how it's accessed:

• In 2022, the door to the store was OUTSIDE of the gates, and you could (seemingly) get in without a ticket
• In 2024, the outside door was locked, and you could only get in via a small path/door accessible only from the main concourse
• This time, the gates were moved forward so that the outside door was now inside the gates

I mentioned how a few fans at the Boulders game yesterday had stitched jerseys despite the team not selling them in their team store. Well, here's the thing: *I* have a stitched Miners jersey that I got from their store in 2022! Most of the other jerseys I've seen here are fully sublimated (including some player worn specialty night jerseys), but this game did feature a few stitched (and signed) "shirseys" (i.e. baseball jerseys that do not fully open) plus one stitched button down jersey that was a bit on the small side for me (despite being a size large).

Outside of the standard hats and jerseys (and other things), the team sells a lot of other things which are rather interesting: I bought a replica championship ring from their 2018 Can-Am League championship⁵ back in 2022, and starting in 2024, they were selling Harry Potter wands (I think they were leftovers from a “Harry Potter Night”). Also, the kids' area in left had an activity where you could bring home a bag of gemstones for five dollars: you'd get a bag of gems and dirt, then had to "panhandle" to clear the dirt and discover the gems inside.

ON DECK

Let there be (ultraviolet black) light.