Stengel Field stadium to be razed

The Stengel Field stadium that officials called “uninhabitable” is slated to be demolished this summer, though future plans for its reconstruction are still up in the air.

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday awarded a $443,925 contract to Burbank-based Triangle Enterprises to complete the work, which includes hazardous-material abatement, as well as the demolition of the 8,600-square-foot stadium, which includes bleachers, restrooms, a concession stand, clubhouse and support facilities.

The restrooms at Brand Park, which have been closed to the public for the past five years, are also slated to be razed.

“It’s all coming down because it’s uninhabitable,” said Jess Duran, director of community services and parks.

Slated to start in June after the end of the current baseball season and expected to wrap up in August, the demolition project also includes the installation of temporary bleachers because the current ones have outlived their life span and are a safety and liability hazard, according to a city staff report.

Some of the lead and asbestos abatement work may begin in March, officials said.

According to the report, the damage was caused by water intrusion and has worsened over the years. Currently, spectators are only allowed in the first three rows of the bleachers as the upper seven have been fenced off, Duran said.

The stadium was built in 1949 and named after the New York Yankees skipper and Glendale resident Casey Stengel.

A timeline and funding plan to rebuild the stadium — which is home to the baseball teams at Crescenta Valley High School and Glendale Community College and is also made available to local Little League and Babe Ruth programs — has not been established.

A community group called the Stengel Field Foundation has been formed to raise money for the restoration.

“All we are committed to right now is the demolition of the stadium structure and then the installation of temporary aluminum bleachers,” Duran said.