pads. The final Turkey game was attended by 6,000 spectators, including Senator Robert Menendez (an alumnus of Union Hill), and saw Union Hill beat Emerson with a score of 20–8, evening the rivalry at 40 wins apiece with nine ties. The Turkey Game trophy is today housed in Union City High School, whose players are known as the Soaring Eagles. The end of the Turkey Game came amid waning Thanksgiving football traditions in communities across the United States, as earlier football season and competing holiday demands on players and their families have made them less relevant. Post-holiday state championships have also overtaken such traditions in importance, as coaches grew reluctant to risk injury to players headed for the championships. Demolition The stadium was closed to make way for a new $136 million Union City High School and Union City Athletic Complex, which unites both Emerson High School and Union Hill High School into one high school. On July 11, 2005, acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey and Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, along with other officials, broke ground in preparation for the new complex. The interior of the stadium was razed and demolished the following month, and the stadium's exterior walls were demolished subsequently. In commemoration of Roosevelt Stadium, the students of Union Hill High School, under the direction of business teacher Peter Drozd, began a website dedicated to the history of the stadium and the Turkey Game. In early March 2006, a large piece of the Hudson Brewery's original brick foundation was found intact, along with the base of a manhole still connected to an original sewer that opened underneath the brewery. The artifacts were removed, and officials monitored the excavation for future discoveries of other artifacts for historical preservation. Union City High School and Athletic Complex opened for students on September 3, 2009. Notes References The Union City Reporter (December 6, 1998) The Union City Reporter (November 28, 2004) The Union City Reporter (December 5, 2004) The Union City Reporter (July 17, 2005) The Union City Reporter (December 6, 1998) The Union City Reporter (March 12, 2006) Defunct American football venues in the United States Union City, New Jersey Sports in Hudson County, New Jersey Works Progress Administration in New Jersey High school football venues in the United States American football venues in New Jersey 1936 establishments in New Jersey Demolished sports venues in New Jersey Sports