The Orlando City Council unveiled plans to commemorate Tinker Field with a small plaza, statue and memorial wall commemorating the people and events that took place at the historic baseball field. The controversial demolition of the baseball stadium became necessary with the Citrus Bowl’s expansion and many community activists in the Parramore area sought a way to commemorate the stadium.
The city’s plans will call for the construction of a 19-foot tall brick and stainless steel structure with a fiberglass baseball on top surrounded by a fence-screen timeline of historic events at Tinker Field.
Among the events that will surely be recognized are the players who played at Tinker Field such as Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to Tinker Field to deliver a civil rights speech in the historical Parramore area.
The stadium at this point is virtually no more. The dirt from the infield is still there along with a flattened pitcher’s mound. But the playing surface is more or less unusable because the new Citrus Bowl had to take space away from right field.
At the time, the plan drew criticism from neighborhood activists who sought to maintain Tinker Field as a historical monument. The City Council did declare Tinker Field a historic landmark and have worked with the Wells’ Built Museum and community activists to commemorate Tinker Field’s history.
But at this point, all that is left to do to demolish Tinker Field is to tear down the grandstands. The city council, in response to criticism and questions from the public at a forum held Tuesday, said it would cost $10 million to renovate and replace the grand stands of the old stadium.
Commissioner Regina Hill said no decision has been made with what to do with Tinker Field. There are no plans at this point to demolish the remnants of Tinker Field completely at this point.
There will be, it would seem, a guarantee of some type of permanent marker for Tinker Field in its entrance way (or former entrance way as the case may one day be) on Tampa Avenue.
It will be interesting to see how it all comes together and how Tinker Field and its history are commemorated.
[…] happens next to Tinker Field remains a bit of a debate. There are some initial plans already put forward to the community to build a small memorial and display of Tinker Field’s history and importance to the city […]