The Tarrant Regional Water District will host an online auction for LaGrave Field memorabilia beginning Oct. 22, before the stadium鈥檚 in mid-November.
The auction will begin 9 a.m. Oct. 22 and run through 9:01 a.m. Nov. 5. It will offer the public a chance to bid on the memorabilia of the stadium that was home to the city鈥檚 historic minor league baseball team, the Fort Worth Cats.
Auctioned items will include 15 handrails with the Cats logo, 219 rows of stadium seats 鈥� varying from one to 25 seats 鈥� and pavers that were placed in and around the stadium, according to a water district news release.
The auction can be with bids on rows of more than 20 seats starting at $55. Smaller rows of three to five seats start at $5, with stadium rails priced at a minimum of $25.
The water district, which has owned LaGrave since 2019, of the stadium in June at the recommendation of a a new economic development strategy for , the area between downtown and Northside at the center of the Central City $1.16 billion flood control project. Consulting firm HR&A Advisors cited skepticism about the stadium鈥檚 ability to attract a sports team that would put LaGrave to use year-round.
During an Oct. 15 water district board meeting, board members Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition to conduct the stadium鈥檚 destruction.
LaGrave, located off North Main Street, . were among notable baseball athletes who played at the stadium.
Before the Cats鈥� team was shut down, the stadium was refurbished in 1950 because of flood and fire damages. It was then demolished in 1967 before being rebuilt in 2001 after businessman Carl Bell brought the team back. The stadium served as the team鈥檚 home until 2014, when the Cats鈥� lease was terminated. The water district took ownership of LaGrave five years later. The property drew investment interest in 2020, but the after the investor failed to meet expectations.
The June 18 vote to demolish the field came as water district board members said there were no viable proposals from developers looking to invest in the field, which has been subject to vandalism and break-ins over the past decade. Board member Paxton Motheral said the vote was solely on the future of the physical structure, not the future of sports on Panther Island.
鈥淭his would not close the door on the opportunity for sports here,鈥� he said.
Nicole Lopez is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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