It opened on July 8, 1932, as a combination athletic facility and a "paying investment" for the working people of industrial Paterson, New Jersey, who were by then struggling through the early years of the Great Depression.

[10] The baseball played at Hinchliffe Stadium was some of the best and most competitive in the game, including prodigious athletes like Monte Irvin, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and "Cool Papa" Bell, among many others.

[11] Victory Bond rallies held at the stadium during World War II drew sports stars and New York and Hollywood celebrities by the dozens.

In the following decades, the stadium did yeoman service for both school sports and major public events, including—from the 1970s on—concerts, antique car shows, and the fireworks displays for the Great Falls Festivals that have become a favorite feature of Paterson's Labor Day celebrations.

These repairs made previously temporary stands permanent, added handicap access and storage facilities, and resulted in the installation of an Astroturf field surface.

Although the facility continued to be used through the 1990s, Hinchliffe Stadium fell further into disrepair due to underfunding and was eventually closed at the end of the 1996–97 school year and threatened with demolition.

In 2009, efforts to renovate Hinchliffe began in earnest when Paterson mayor Andre Sayegh, then a member of the city council, visited Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the few remaining Negro League stadiums still standing.

[12][13] Elected mayor in 2018, Sayegh secured the necessary political support and funding for the renovation and in 2021 ground was broken on a $94 million project to both restore and upgrade the stadium.

[15] Hinchliffe's grand opening occurred on May 19, 2023 and was attended by numerous celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.

[18] Critics of the stadium renovation included Jackal fans who questioned the decision moving the team to an area with significant crime and transportation issues.

Jackals owner, Al Dorso, who agreed to lease the stadium from the city annually for 180 days, was also criticized by community leaders for placing profits over the needs of local residents.