In the years following the departure of the Huntsville Stars (Class AA; Southern League), Joe Davis Stadium has fallen into a state of decline and disrepair.
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). It has been largely shut off from the public in the years since, and photos published on AL.com late last week capture the ballpark’s state of decline.
Huntsville officials have indicated in the fairly recent past that Joe Davis Stadium will eventually be demolished, but the timeline for when that could take place is uncertain. Plans for the future of the site have not been finalized. More from AL.com:
The stadium hasn’t been used in nearly five years and will eventually be demolished, city officials told AL.com last year. It’s unclear what, if anything, will become of the site.
The city has been in discussions with a developer interested in building a recreational venue that could include multiple indoor basketball and volleyball courts, similar to the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery.
“Here’s the thing: If we went over there and demolished it right now, you would just have a great big mud hole,” City Administrator John Hamilton said last year. “So either way, it’s going to be an eyesore. We think the best thing is to do the demolition as the first phase of a redevelopment. That may change in the future.”
Look inside Huntsville’s dilapidated minor league baseball stadium https://t.co/C0y9tHg7WE pic.twitter.com/cFyjFGktbY
— AL.com (@aldotcom) May 26, 2019
Joe Davis Stadium hosted its first game in 1985, and was considered out-of-date at the time that the Stars relocated. It is also rendered further obsolete by an upcoming new ballpark in nearby Madison that is slated to open in 2020 for the Southern League’s Rocket City Trash Pandas (the current Mobile BayBears). Joe Davis Stadium is among the facilities currently listed on our Endangered Ballparks page.
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