Tinker Field’s status is more than definitely up in the air. The grandstands to the old stadium, built in 1923, have already been ripped out. The field itself cannot be touched as the Orlando City Council declared it a historic landmark.
History is now being sold off as the rest of the stadium awaits its fate.
The city will sell the seats salvaged from the demolition of the grandstands to the general public between 10 a.m. and noon on Sept. 26. A pair of seats will cost $100 and a set of four can be purchased for $200. A city spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel that about 400 seats will be available.
Much like the auction of old memorabilia, seats and other parts of the old Orlando Arena, this is just the first stage before the whole stadium comes down.
Currently Tinker Field is just the baseball field with the shell behind the grandstands remaining. The rest of the stadium has been gutted and obviously put up for sale.
What 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 — both as the host of a minor league baseball team where several great player played and as a center for the Civil Rights movement in Orlando where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke.
For now, the city is still moving forward with most of its demolition.
UPDATE: As was pointed out to me on Twitter, the grandstands of Tinker Field have already been torn down. All that is left is the field itself.
