Joe Davis Stadium will likely be demolished in the future, as officials believe that the former Huntsville Stars (Class AA; Southern League) home is obsolete.
Joe Davis Stadium hosted its last full season of Minor League Baseball in 2014, and has not seen any MiLB action since the Biloxi Shuckers used the ballpark for some home games in 2015 while awaiting the completion of MGM Park (the Stars became the Shuckers after relocating to Biloxi). Though the surrounding parking lot continues to be used for events, the ballpark itself has largely been shut off from the public since it stopped hosting MiLB games.
In recent comments, Huntsville city administrator John Hamilton said that the ballpark is likely to be demolished in the future, which would clear the way for redevelopment of the site. There is no firm time table in place for when it will be demolished, but the city views Joe Davis Stadium as obsolete. More from WHNT:
“It’s ripe for redevelopment. The stadium is obsolete,” Huntsville city administrator John Hamilton said.
The old ballpark hasn’t been open to the public for about three years. City administrator John Hamilton says the place is likely going to be torn down, it’s just a question of when. Hamilton says the ballpark estimate for demolition is around $1 million, and that’s mostly the cost of hauling the steel and concrete to the dump.
“We do have a developer,” Hamilton said.
A new festival area is being dug one lot over and the string of lamp posts down the street is a clue to the stadium’s fate.
Joe Davis Stadium originally opened in 1985, and was considered out-of-date at the time that the Stars relocated. It is also rendered further obsolete by plans for a new ballpark in suburban Madison that will open for the relocating Mobile BayBears (Class AA; Southern League) in 2020.
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