Hudson Valley Renegades (South Atlantic League) @ Heritage Financial Park (Wappingers Falls, NY)

A trip nearly 20 years in the making...probably

*This trip occurred on May 1, 2025.

Before Andrew Cuomo pissed off folks in Rockland and Westchester counties by slapping his father's name on the New Tappan Zee Bridge (and LONG before he tried to convince New York City he'd be a good mayor after the scandal that cost him the governor's seat), it was an old, rotting piece of junk that - despite being the fastest route from New Jersey to New England - was viewed by my parents as something to avoid due to how congested it typically was (mainly on the way up). Therefore, we'd often head up the Thruway to Newburgh and catch Interstate 84 up there rather than take the Saw Mill River Parkway (a winding, narrow road which is uncomfortable to drive on) or 684 (which involved the Cross Westchester Expressway, which was perpetually under construction at the time). Located in Wappingers Falls, NY, and nestled just across the Hudson from Newburgh, what is now Heritage Financial Park (then Dutchess Stadium) was clearly visible from 84 as well as the logos of its tenant (the Renegades) and their then-affiliate: the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays¹.

Founded in 1994 after a move from Erie, PA, the Hudson Valley Renegades started life in the New York-Penn League as an affiliate of the Texas Rangers. In 1996, they became an affiliate of the aforementioned (Devil) Rays - a full two years before said team played their first game in 1998! They had a pretty decent run in the NYPL - winning three league titles and producing a pretty good crop of MLB talent (including players like Evan Longoria). However, when the great MiLB realignment of 2020 occurred, the Renegades jumped from the dying NYPL to the South Atlantic League (alongside the Brooklyn Cyclones, who I talked about yesterday). They also, in what can only be described as an attempt to connect themselves better to the local area, switched their affiliation from the Rays to…the Yankees. This move more or less killed the Yankees NYPL team on Staten Island, which given that the Mets decided to stay in Brooklyn, was kinda controversial (I'll get more into this in a later post).

I went back and forth on whether or not to actually catch a game here before a hockey jersey giveaway sealed the deal; before that game, I visited the team store while driving up to Massachusetts (more on that in the Merch section). As for the rest of the stadium, it was built in the 90s, and it’s one of those stadiums where your seating areas are split into upper and lower tiers with the concourse/main walkway in the middle. The concession stands and team store are in an area of the concourse that’s blocked from the field by a grandstand area (i.e. where the suites and press box are), but there were TVs to watch the action (though it’s delayed). One end of this part of the “outer concourse” has a kids area, and there’s a bar area that’s open to all fans down the right field line (along with some luxury fire pit seating just below it). There’s another VIP area in left, but I didn’t bother trying to access it (one thing I noticed with specifically the New York minor league venues: ushers are very serious).

If it hadn’t been for the five dollar ticket I got from the Cyclones (though it was more like eight dollars due to fees), this would be the least expensive ticket I found: general admission bleacher seating is available for just five dollars(ish)! The mid-level concourse does make the view from the upper areas a bit awkward, but if you end up going to a game where the Renegades get walloped 9-2 (which, coincidentally, was the final score of the game I went to), then a “free upgrade” isn’t too hard to accomplish (assuming you don’t end up in the seat of someone actually at the game).

I guess I'll finish this by saying that there are two things to note before coming here if you’re thinking about it:

1. The team uses Ticketmaster, so be prepared for Ticketmaster shenanigans.
2. Parking is ten dollars if bought at game time (which is kinda high when you consider that this is the same price as Brooklyn), but seven dollars if pre-purchased (though, once again, Ticketmaster). I know there are local streets and a strip mall nearby, but I don’t know what their parking rules are, so be careful if you’re trying to avoid paying parking fees (as there’s no real transit option).

MERCH

When I visited the team store the first time, I noticed that it was kinda small and very cramped due to the presence of merchandise racks that are usually on the concourse during games (as well as them preparing to ship online orders). I feel like it's probably the size you'd expect from this level of baseball (or at least the "old" level; other stadiums I've visited from the NYPL had similarly sized stores), and it DID have some VERY old hats from I don't even know when (they were all too small for me though), which was cool. Because Minor League Baseball teams LOVE playing dress up, the Renegades also have a TON of alternate identities (as well as throwback merch as they had recently celebrated their 30th anniversary), and each one had its own section of hats, shirts, and jerseys (contributing to the “crampedness”).

When I was at the game, I was surprised to find that instead of just being outside the team store, some of the extra racks were in a second merchandise area on the first base side of the concourse (the main store is closer to third); it had a more limited selection of things - many of which I’m pretty sure are available in the main store (though it may be there to allow shopping while watching the game/shorter lines). However, I gotta mention the "Hudson Line" hat the team came out with at some point: meant to resemble the Yankees' interlocking "NY" logo, it features an interlocking "HV", but the V looks kinda like a Y, which can basically make the hat seem like it's saying "YH" for "Yankee Hater" (something various Boston sports stores sold back in the day).

I got several hats and a REALLY nice jacket my first time here (it goes with the throwback hat and is a nice color), and for the game, I ended up getting a Hudson Valley Cider Donuts hat and also went against my better judgment and got a jersey with a Yankee logo on one of the sleeves (hey, it was half off!). Interestingly, it has a number that's stitched (24, as 2024 was their 30th anniversary), but the letters and sleeve patches aren't (it was also the only jersey that wasn't sublimated). Also, as I mentioned earlier, there was a hockey jersey giveaway; the jersey itself is more or less what you’d expect for something that, in essence, cost sixteen bucks (ticket + parking) to get, so it’s…not exactly the type of quality I usually try to go for.

On a final note, the team logo baseball I got here is a little strange in that it says “OFFICIAL MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL” on it (but still has the Renegades logo).