The fields at Thomas Edison Park in Edison were nothing unique — a place where kids from Middlesex County came to play, compete and dream a little.
Katie Eskin was one of those kids.
She played youth sports on those fields. She went on to play basketball and softball at Edison High School, then NCAA Division I softball at Marist College. And then she left Edison behind, the way ambitious people often do, and built a career at some of the biggest venues in sports and entertainment — Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, Madison Square Garden, IMG, working alongside the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Washington Commanders.
Now she has an opportunity to bring those big-league ideals back home.
Eskin was officially announced Monday as general manager of the NEXUS, Middlesex County’s new sports and entertainment district rising on the same ground where she spent her childhood. She said she’s excited about the plans — and the possibilities.
The complex will be unlike any other in the state. Consider:
The stadium: The centerpiece of the NEXUS is a fully convertible venue — baseball and softball one week, soccer the next. Rutgers baseball is expected to anchor it on the college side, with Rutgers softball on Eskin’s wish list. On the professional side, minor league baseball and MLS-caliber soccer are both in the mix. Concerts and festivals will fill the remaining dates. The goal is a full calendar, as close to year-round as the weather allows.
The fields: Behind the stadium, 14-plus rectangular fields — all being turfed now — will host soccer, lacrosse, flag football and more. The layout is modeled after the kind of multi-sport destination complexes you’d find at Disney’s Wide World of Sports: a championship field at the center, with a track around it and bleachers for elevated events, surrounded by fields radiating outward. The programming target is state championships, regional tournaments and national events that bring families and athletes from across the country.
The cricket pitch: This is differentiator. A regulation-size cricket pitch — one of the first of its kind in New Jersey — will be built into the heart of the complex. Edison has one of the largest South Asian populations in the state. Cricket is not a niche sport here; it is a community anchor. Building a regulation pitch into a complex of this ambition says something about who the NEXUS is for. “The community is extremely excited about that,” Eskin said.
The restaurant: A high-end bar and grill with a terrace overlooking the field will anchor the campus dining experience, located inside the Middlesex College Student Center adjacent to the stadium. Elevated concession options throughout the complex will round out the food and beverage program. Eskin made clear this is not an afterthought — it is part of the guest experience strategy. People should want to stay, she said. Hang out. Go to a game and not feel rushed to leave.
The sponsorship picture: Corporate naming and sponsorship opportunities will be available, and Eskin said a group will be going to market soon. But the overall brand stays intact. The complex will be known as the NEXUS — with the stadium, fields and restaurant each carrying their own identity underneath that umbrella. “It is going to remain the NEXUS,” she said.
The economic footprint: Eskin is already in conversations with hotels throughout Middlesex County to coordinate bookings around major tournaments and events. The vision extends well beyond the complex itself — restaurants throughout the area, the broader community that stands to benefit when thousands of visiting athletes and families descend on Edison. “This is an economic catalyst,” she said.
None of this happened by accident — at least not the facility part.
Middlesex County has been building toward this for years, driven by what Eskin called a genuine passion and knowledge at the county level that she said rivals anything she encountered during her years at major professional venues.
“If you talk to anyone at the county, their passion and their knowledge of this level of project — they’re doing it the right way from top to bottom,” she said.
She was asked whether she was surprised that a county government, not a private developer, was driving something this ambitious.
She wasn’t.
What did surprise her — pleasantly — was the coincidence that brought her back.
Middlesex County and SFC conducted a national search. They found the right candidate based on her resume alone. Only later did they learn she grew up playing on the same fields she’d now be running.
“I didn’t even have Edison on my resume,” she said. “They identified me not even knowing I was from there.”
The fields at Thomas Edison Park weren’t anything special when she was a kid.
They will be now.
