U.S. Rep. Richard Neal speaks in front of Forest Park’s Walker Memorial Grandstand, currently under renovation. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Capital Asset Contruction Director Peter Garvey and Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management Director Tom Ashe also spoke at the press conference.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — The noise of construction filled the air in Forest Park during an Oct. 28 press conference with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, but this spring those sounds will be replaced with the crack of a baseball bat and the cheer of the crowd.
Neal (D-Springfield) and Sarno were joined by Capital Asset Contruction Director Peter Garvey and Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management Director Tom Ashe for an update on renovations to the Walker Memorial Grandstand.
Garvey said the decision was made to renovate the grandstand rather than build a new one due to the structure’s “huge historical significance.” The grandstand was named for brothers Edward and William Walker, prominent businesspeople in Springfield at the turn of the 20th century. William Walker left a trust for Forest Park, which was used to build the grandstand in 1948 after the previous structure burned down.
The renovation cost $4 million, with $3 million in federal Community Project Funding Grant and $1 million in municipal funds. Garvey said the project is the first major renovation to the grandstand since it was built over 75 years ago. “As you can see behind us, it’s not a day too early or a day too late.”
Garvey explained that, while the federal funding was announced about two years ago, the process involved in such projects is lengthy. A contract with EDM, an engineering and landscape architecture firm out of Pittsfield, was signed 18 months ago and the design took about six months to complete.
The contractor, Kronenberger & Sons Restoration, which specializes in historic building preservation, restoration and adaptive reuse, then went to work. While the grandstand will maintain much of its historic nature, it will be updated, with accessible stands, bathrooms and dugouts. It will seat 2,000 people, just as it did prior to the renovation.
Ashe called the renovation a “unique” and “magnificent” project and said it was his department’s responsibility to ensure the ballfields “match the beauty of Walker Stadium. We really want this to be a marquee site.” He said the grandstand will be ready by late spring, shortly after the high school baseball season begins. “We’re going to work right through the winter,” Garvey added.
The field and grandstand are used by American Legion Baseball, high school and college teams. The minor league Westfield Starfires have also played there.
Sarno and Neal both recalled playing baseball on the field behind them. “It was always a big deal to play at Walker Stadium. This was our big leagues here,” Sarno said. “It’s great that we’re offering all these sports, recreational opportunities to the young people of Springfield,” Sarno said. He said there is a correlation between children playing baseball and academic success.
“We’re going to continue to do these enhancements to quality of life,” Sarno said.
Neal referred to the renovation as, “A tasteful reminder of one of the iconic locations in Western Massachusetts for baseball.”
The former Springfield mayor said he was “thrilled” with the decision to name the dugouts after local sports journalist Garry Brown. He spoke at length about how Brown “chronicled our lives.” Sarno said the dugouts were chosen to bear Brown’s name because “that’s where Garry would get to the heart of his stories.” Brown died in 2022.
Neal spoke of the beauty and “emotional peace that you get, and sort of a calmness” of Forest Park, created in 1884, in part, with land donated by philanthropists Everett Barney and Orick Greenleaf. “I love these parks,” said Neal. “I’ve played on every inch of them.”
The grandstand renovation is part of the Forest Park Horticulture Master Plan, which also included a new horticultural center, renovation of the Monkey House, replacing the 1900-era greenhouse and upgrades to the Kennedy Memorial, the baseball field, lighting, security and landscaping. In 2022, the master plan was expected to cost $12.5 million.
Neal said $3 million in federal funds will also be dedicated to the planned horticultural center to be construction near the John F. Kennedy memorial. Sarno estimated that project to cost about $6 million.
“We continue to pursue philanthropic organization, funding from private donors and governmental money to continue the master plan and the horticultural center. And sometimes, there’s a delta” that the city would fund, Sarno said. “My goal is to try to get what they do at Smith College when they have those flower shows. Why not have it here?”
