The stadium lights are off for good at the former Fort Worth Cats ballpark. Earlier this week, the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) contracted Dallas-based Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition to tear down the now-defunct LaGrave Field in mid-November.
Back in June — after public comment meetings — TRWD voted to demolish the baseball stadium due to concerns for public safety and maintenance costs. The removal will make way for new development as part of the Panther Island Project Vision 2.0.
The stands were filled for the Fort Worth Cats’ opening day in April 1928.
Photo courtesy of UTA Libraries.
Feeling familiar?
This isn’t the first razing the ballpark has experienced.
The first LaGrave Field opened in 1926 + held exhibition games featuring baseball legends Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Jackie Robinson. It was torn down and rebuilt in 1950 after a fire and demolished a second time in 1967 when the club closed.
The current ballpark was reconstructed in 2002 when the Fort Worth Cats were revived, but it was only open for 15 years. After multiple attempts to revive the team and salvage the facility, the stadium faces the wrecking ball once again — this time as part of a $328,000 project that will repurpose the concrete waste for an erosion control project on Handley-Edderville Road.
Don’t miss your chance to memorialize the ballpark before it’s gone.
Photo by Nicolas Henderson/Flickr
Shag a piece of history
Before demolition, the water district plans to auction off stadium memorabilia — like bleacher seats, signs, and handrails — to the public in the next couple of weeks.
Stay tuned for an announcement about the exact auction date and how to get involved.
