Pittsfield Suns Pause Season at Wahconah Park, Promise New Summer ProgrammingBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:29PM / Thursday, February 15, 2024 | |
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Suns have decided to pause this year's baseball season at Wahconah Park and the administration says it is committed to offering "new opportunities" at the facility over the summer.
"My administration will be actively working with the Pittsfield Suns on a lineup of new programming for the 2024 summer season as we continue to plan the future of Wahconah Park," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.
On Thursday, Marchetti and the baseball team shared a joint statement that included promises of collaboration and Fourth of July fireworks. The historic park's 1950s grandstand was deemed unsafe for capacity in 2022 and a restoration committee has been working to come up with a solution since.
"After two seasons with the temporary bleachers in place, the Pittsfield Suns have decided that they need to take a pause for the 2024 baseball season at Wahconah Park," the statement reads. "This was not an easy decision given this community's strong connection to the ballpark and the team but one that the Pittsfield Suns ownership needs to make at this time."
The Pittsfield Suns and the city say they are committed to working closely to provide new programming for the upcoming summer season including the annual fireworks. More details are expected to be released as plans are finalized in the coming weeks and months.
Team owner Jeff Goldklang thanked Marchetti and the city for the commitment to seeing organized baseball flourish in Wahconah Park and said he and the team "are excited to assist in whatever way we can towards the bright future of baseball in the Berkshires."
The Wahconah Park Restoration Committee — tasked with assessing the current condition of the park, soliciting public feedback, and examining the potential for rehabilitation versus new construction — endorsed a $30 million elevated design in September that is nearly triple the cost of early expectations. The panel has since looked to cost savings, shaving off about 7,000 square feet from the 40,000 square foot design and bringing the cost to about $26.3 million.
However, a roadblock was reached when the state historical commission responded to a project notification form stating that it "encourages consideration of project alternatives that would preserve the historic grandstand."
The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and is said to be a "staple in the community for decades." Epsilon Associates was hired as a consultant to guide these conversations.
"I think that they perhaps didn't have enough context and the ability to really absorb the feasibility study, which is a very large document which detailed in a really robust way a lot of the structural issues that have been spoken about and how we've arrived at this alternative and sort of all the historical context we're trying to bring to this new design," Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath told the city's Historical Commission earlier this month.
"So we're really looking to have a more thoughtful conversation with them around the whole full context of this project."
The local commission agreed to weigh in on the project, offering some preliminary feedback on the proposed design while recognizing that renovating the structure is likely not feasible.
The park has hosted several minor league teams over the years, as well as exhibition games featuring major league stars such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams. The Pittsfield Suns have been playing at the park since 2012, and are part of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
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