The Tarrant Regional Water District will host an online auction for LaGrave Field memorabilia beginning Oct. 22, before the stadium’s anticipated demolition in mid-November.
The auction will begin 9 a.m. Oct. 22 and run through 9:01 a.m. Nov. 5. It will offer the public a chance to bid on the memorabilia of the stadium that was home to the city’s historic minor league baseball team, the Fort Worth Cats.
Auctioned items will include 15 handrails with the Cats logo, 219 rows of stadium seats — varying from one to 25 seats — and pavers that were placed in and around the stadium, according to a water district news release.
The auction can be accessed at LSOauctions with bids on rows of more than 20 seats starting at $55. Smaller rows of three to five seats start at $5, with stadium rails priced at a minimum of $25.
The water district, which has owned LaGrave since 2019, approved the demolition of the stadium in June at the recommendation of a consultant hired to create a new economic development strategy for Panther Island, the area between downtown and Northside at the center of the Central City $1.16 billion flood control project. Consulting firm HR&A Advisors cited skepticism about the stadium’s ability to attract a sports team that would put LaGrave to use year-round.
During an Oct. 15 water district board meeting, board members approved the hiring of Dallas-based contractor Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition to conduct the stadium’s destruction.
LaGrave, located off North Main Street, became the Cats’ home in 1926. Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio were among notable baseball athletes who played at the stadium.
Before the Cats’ team was shut down, the stadium was refurbished in 1950 because of flood and fire damages. It was then demolished in 1967 before being rebuilt in 2001 after businessman Carl Bell brought the team back. The stadium served as the team’s home until 2014, when the Cats’ lease was terminated. The water district took ownership of LaGrave five years later. The property drew investment interest in 2020, but the deal fell through after the investor failed to meet expectations.
The June 18 vote to demolish the field came as water district board members said there were no viable proposals from developers looking to invest in the field, which has been subject to vandalism and break-ins over the past decade. Board member Paxton Motheral said the vote was solely on the future of the physical structure, not the future of sports on Panther Island.
“This would not close the door on the opportunity for sports here,” he said.
Nicole Lopez is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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