Demolition work finally begins at Cooper Stadium

Local More Local Stories US & World More US & World Stories By Mark Ferenchik The Columbus Dispatch Friday April 18, 2014 4:54 PM

Demolition work has finally begun on Cooper Stadium, starting the transformation of Columbus venerable home of minor league baseball into a race track.

Crews today are tearing down a building behind the grandstand along the first base line.

A pile of concrete blocks and other rubble sit behind the stadium, exposing what had been a mens restroom. Piles of metal lay across the reserved seats behind home plate.

Plans call for the grandstand along the first-base line to be torn down as Arshot Investment Corp. converts the stadium into a race track, part of the $40 million Sports Pavilion and Automotive Research Complex, or SPARC.

About 8,500 seats will remain.

Demolition will continue through spring, then construction will begin on the track and the adjacent automotive research and technology building. The project is scheduled to open by fall 2015, said Arshot spokeswoman Lisa Griffin.

The site was Columbus home of minor league baseball beginning on June 3, 1932, when Red Bird Stadium was dedicated. The Columbus Red Birds were the St. Louis Cardinals top farm team, playing in the American Association. It was one of the first stadiums with permanent lights.

The Red Birds were moved to Omaha, Neb., after the 1954 season. Harold Cooper, a minor league baseball executive who once served as a clubhouse boy at Red Bird Stadium, worked with local businessmen to bring the Ottawa team in the International League here for the 1955 season.

The Columbus team was named the Jets and the stadium renamed Jet Stadium.

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Demolition work finally begins at Cooper Stadium