The fate of LaGrave Field’s grandstand will be a topic of discussion when the Tarrant Regional Water District Board meets again in June.
An advisory report on the future of Panther Island recommends demolishing the abandoned stadium north of downtown. The property could be converted to another use that still includes baseball, but rehabilitating the 23-year-old stadium would be too expensive, the report said.
Board member James Hill called for the June agenda item to begin the discussion about what to do with LaGrave Field. The district should listen to the public first before deciding how to proceed, he said.
The water district is also looking for a real estate consultant to advise the board on what to do with the approximately 347 acres it owns on Panther Island. Some of that land will be used for the 1.5-mile canal that connects two parts of the Trinity River.
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The 23-year-old stadium on the northern edge of the future Panther Island has fallen into disrepair after sitting vacant for nearly a decade. In 2018, there were attempts to revive the stadium, but those attempts failed in 2020.
The water district pays $195,000 a year for the stadium’s security and maintenance.
The Fort Worth Cats began playing at the original LaGrave Field in 1926, first as an independent team and eventually as part of the Brooklyn Dodgers farm system. Baseball legends like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Lou Gehrig all took turns gracing the basepaths during the Cats’ nearly 40-year run in Fort Worth.
The current stadium was built in 2001 with a new version of the Fort Worth Cats making it their home from 2002 to 2014.
