The park was built for the 1994 season, although it opened several weeks late due to a rough winter that hampered construction. The sod also was unable to take properly that season, and the field did not properly drain, leading to rainouts on evenings where the sun had been out since noon. The drainage problem was fixed in 1995. The stadium's original name was "Mercer County Waterfront Park" when it opened in 1994. "Samuel J. Plumeri Sr. Field" was added to the original name in 1999 by Trenton Thunder owner,
Joe Plumeri (Chairman and CEO of
Willis Group Holdings). Samuel J. Plumeri Sr. was Joe Plumeri's father. In November 2012, the New Jersey–based Church and Dwight company /
Arm & Hammer purchased the ballpark's naming rights. Following the 2020 season the sponsorship was discontinued as the professional minor league Thunder lost their affiliation as part of the
2021 reorganization of Minor League Baseball. In June 2014, the park hosted the first-ever, gold- and bronze-medal games in baseball for the
Special Olympics USA National Games. In 2018, it hosted the Eastern League All-Star Game.
Attendance records The ballpark set a record for game attendance on July 3, 2011, when the Thunder played the
Altoona Curve. The game had the fortune of falling on the
Independence Day holiday weekend, as well as featuring an injury rehabilitation appearance by
Derek Jeter of the
New York Yankees, the Thunder's major league affiliate at the time. The official attendance for the game was 9,212. When
Alex Rodriguez played two games on back-to-back nights in August 2013, the official attendance was reported at 8,080 and 8,113, respectively. ==Features==