Five months after the Tarrant Regional Water District of LaGrave Field, the now-defunct baseball stadium on Fort Worth鈥檚 Panther Island will be torn down in mid-November.
During their Tuesday meeting, water district board members unanimously approved the hiring of the Dallas-based contractor Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition to conduct the stadium鈥檚 destruction.
As originally promised, the water district intends to for public auctioning. Memorabilia will include bleachers and signs that read the name of the city鈥檚 historic minor league baseball team, the Fort Worth Cats. While the demolition will happen in mid-November, residents can expect a public auction within the next couple weeks for the seats and handrails, said water district spokesperson Chad Lorance.
Demolished recyclable materials, including concrete, will also be hauled by the contractor to go toward future water district projects.
LaGrave, located off North Main Street between downtown Fort Worth and the Northside neighborhood, became the . were among the baseball legends who played exhibition games at the stadium. Before the Cats鈥� team was shut down, the stadium was refurbished in 1950 due to fire and flood damage. It went on to be demolished in 1967.
The stadium was rebuilt in 2001 after businessman Carl Bell brought the team back. The site served as the team鈥檚 home until 2014, when the Cats鈥� lease was terminated. After falling into disrepair, the water district took over ownership of LaGrave in 2019.
A third-party investor initially agreed to restore the stadium and bring the team back, but that after the investor failed to meet certain requirements, such as heightened security to prevent vandalism, which currently engulfs LaGrave.
The June 18 vote to demolish LaGrave came after a consultant, HR&A Advisors 鈥� tapped by city officials to for the 鈥� recommended the demolition and sale of the stadium. The consultant cited 鈥渟kepticism鈥� about the stadium鈥檚 ability to attract a financially sustainable sports team that would put LaGrave to use year-round.
Several residents urged the board to consider preserving LaGrave in June, but board members said there were no viable proposals from developers looking to invest in the field.
In a May meeting, board member James Hill said discussions with property owners or developers would be delayed until the water district and a consultant come up with a framework for LaGrave鈥檚 future use.
Nicole Lopez is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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