NJSEA to Sell 43-Acre Racetrack Parcel for $2M

OCEANPORT, NJ-The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owns the Meadowlands Sports complex, Monmouth Park Race Track and several other venues, has been making some quiet noise about selling off some of its substantial real estate holdings to raise some cash and pay some bills. In what could be the first of several such sales, the state agency has agreed to part with 43 acres of land here for a price tag of $2 million.

But rather than the tract going for commercial development, as some might have expected, this Monmouth County community will turn it into public baseball and soccer fields. The site, part of the property of Monmouth Park and situated at Port Au Peck and Oceanport avenues, has not been used by the track for purposes related to horse racing for years. Officials involved with the transaction could not be reached for comment.

To help pay for the land, the Oceanport borough council is getting $1.15 million worth of grants from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres program, which helps cities and counties buy land for recreational and conservation purposes. The sale is expected to close by the end of this year.