The Parks Commission this week voted to demolish the Wahconah grandstand this year rather than have 'a rusting hulk of a building' sitting on the site until a new one can be built.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After a quarter century of hosting baseball fans, demolition is planned for the Wahconah Park grandstand to make way for the ballpark's future. 

On Tuesday, the Parks Commission voted to demolish the historic, disrepaired grandstand and have the project team consider how to retain the electrical elements so that baseball can continue to be played. 

Commissioner Anthony DeMartino successfully motioned to "approve the process of removing the grandstand so we can have the project move forward and with the recommendation of the [owner's project manager] and the contractors about what we need to put in place to allow baseball to happen before we actually have anything." 

The removal is expected to cost $875,000, and the city would like it done in the fall, long before the 2026 baseball season. 

"This is a proposal for your consideration of sort of jump-starting the Wahconah Park project, again, not understanding what the full roadmap is, but knowing that removal of the grandstand is inevitably something that is going to need to be entertained," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said. 

"And is this the right time to do that? That's a question for this commission." 

Last year, the Wahconah Park Restoration Committee recommended a $28.4 million rebuild of the grandstand and parking lot, and the Parks Commission supported a move toward the project's design development phase. 

While the 1950 grandstand is not structurally sound enough for use, the ballfield continues to host games with temporary bleachers. Components of the grandstand, such as the replica owls (used to deter birds) and bleacher seats, will likely be salvaged for historical or fundraising purposes. 

"We now are in the reality of having a, for lack of a better term, a rusting hulk of a building that can't be used that will need to be removed if there is a new grandstand constructed, or if there is — whatever gets constructed in its place," McGrath explained. 

"Even if we were just to have a bleacher system, we need to remove the existing grandstand in order to make way for a new project." 

As a part of the project's first phase, planners are looking into razing the grandstand, which must be done in accordance with the state's laws for hazardous materials. The dugouts would remain. 

The city has a full assessment of the "lot" of hazardous material, including asbestos and PCB caulking. 

"There's all kinds of other stuff that would need to be handled in an appropriate way for Massachusetts code, so we understand what those components are," McGrath said. 

He reported, "We have the money in place to remove the grandstand," including federal and city funds. When the project was advanced last year, it had $18 million committed between grant funding and capital borrowing. 

There has been significant demand for the field this year, and there is a potential partnership with Berkshire Community College. McGrath said everything they are doing is to preserve baseball play. 

"We met with Berkshire Community College that is starting a collegiate baseball team. They have expressed interest in playing down at the field," he said. 

"So Wahconah Park continues to be top of mind for a lot of baseball people, and by removing the building, that will just sort of give us a jump start, clear the site, if you will, and get us prepared for the next iteration of the vision for the park." 

Planners propose removing the site's electrical elements and staging them in a small building.  A fence or netting is also recommended for the crowd to stand behind.

Wooden piles underneath the grandstand maintained their integrity. 

"Those piles are as sound today as the day that they were put in in the 1950s, so we would preserve the piles," McGrath explained. 

"Of course, we would not have restrooms. We would make accommodations for portable toilets down there until the point where we have something that is rising in its place, a new grandstand or some other— whatever it is." 

The recommendation will go to Skanska, the owner's project manager, and S3 Design so they can work on a demolition package and bring it back to the commission. 

Commissioners also motioned to recommend that the Conservation Commission look into refurbishing the shed at Kirvin Park. 

"I know this is a little issue. I just think sometimes the little issues show that the city cares about our infrastructure, and it's been looking like that for years," Chair Paula Albro said. 

McGrath reported that the ConCom's chair "doesn't disagree that something needs to happen." 

"I think it's just a matter of getting the right people from the building maintenance department down there, and perhaps public services to look at what could be done," he said. 

 

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