SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Demolition is underway at Fair Grounds Field, but that is not stopping a new push to halt the destruction of the iconic Shreveport baseball stadium.
Work began this week to gut the inside of the stadium, and heavy equipment arrived Tuesday in preparation for the heavier deconstruction work that lies ahead.
Despite years of efforts to save the baseball stadium on the Louisiana State Fair Grounds, the city moved forward in August with plans to raze the former home of the Shreveport Swamp Dragons and Shreveport Captains. The city says the facility has become too run down, no longer meets building and sanitation codes, and is not handicap-accessible. It was also undersized for the city’s capacity and infested with bats.
The bats were removed last month.
Under the contract, the work of tearing down the stadium must be completed within 90 days, weather permitting. But if a group organized by Shreveport-based real estate company U.L. Coleman has its way, the work to tear it down would be stopped at least temporarily “until a legitimate land use and physical plant study has been completed.”
CEO Linc Coleman says the group is looking to halt the destruction until a comprehensive plan for the retention, renovation, and programming of Fairgrounds Field can be developed to determine if the structure could be saved or if it should be torn down.
KTAL/KMSS has reached out to the Shreveport Mayor’s Office for comment on the latest push to save the facility.
No official proposals for the property’s future have been announced. However, the city says it has been exploring options for development and working on several improvements in the area that are expected to raise property values, including applying for a federal grant to improve the nearby medical corridor.
