Wahconah Park Grandstand Coming Down in August
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Crews are working to remediate Wahconah Park's grandstand for asbestos before it is taken down.
Demolition is expected to begin next month, but not before proper abatement work is completed.
Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reported on Thursday that Apex Abatement has been working closely with the Department of Environmental Protection to update and revise a safe plan to remediate asbestos from the property.
"Differing site conditions have led to changing work plans throughout the work process," he replied by email to iBerkshires.
"Manual abatement of asbestos-containing materials is scheduled to be complete by the end of the month, with large structural demolition following immediately after."
The grandstand's entrance is currently covered with plastic, and an excavator is out front.
The over-a-quarter-century-old structure was deemed unsafe in 2022, and planners have determined that starting from square one is the best option; a $15 million rebuild is on the table.
The updated, half-cost design for Wahconah Park places the bathrooms and concessions in elevated, standalone buildings beside the grandstand. It is expected to take less than a year to build.
Last year, the Parks Commission accepted a negotiating rights agreement between the city and the longtime summer collegiate baseball team, the Pittsfield Suns. It solidifies that the two will work together when the historic ballpark is renovated.
Pittsfield said its goodbyes to the sporting facility in April, when a "Farewell to the Grandstand" event was held at the site to celebrate its past and look forward to the future.
"In the early 1900s, Wahconah Park went from concept on paper to construction. The grandstand was built between the 1949 and 1950 seasons. It was designed to seat about 2,000 fans. A few decades later, in 2005, Wahconah Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places," Mayor Peter Marchetti said at the event.
"That longevity matters because it connects today's games, school events, and community gatherings to more than a century of shared memories."
It included a round of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," hot dogs, and stories about the ballpark. Artifacts from the ballpark were displayed in cases outside of the grandstand for the event, along with banners depicting the park's history and a roped-off area for community members to see the structure one last time.
Tags: demolition, grandstand, Wahconah Park,
