Grandstand at historic Emslie Field in St. Thomas, Ont. deemed unsafe

CTV’s Brent Lale with a St. Thomas Council decision on the rehabilitation of the grandstand at Emslie Field in Pinafore Park.

One of the world’s oldest ballparks is about to get a facelift.

St. Thomas City Council must decide what to do with the 87-year-old grandstand at Emslie Field after a report to council by POW Peterman Consulting Engineers deemed it unsafe.

In the report it details “one steel beam contains a hole through the web, significantly reducing its shear capacity, while several roof joists are cracked or damaged. Even under normal conditions, high wind gusts could cause further displacement or failure.”

Mayor Joe Preston tells CTV News there is a lot to unpack before making any decision on what happens next.

“It has heritage to it, it has accessibility to it and it’s also a budgetary concern,” said Preston.

The report said the grandstand which was rebuilt in 1938 after a 1936 fire would cost $800,000 to repair or $1.2 million to reconstruct.

Councillors threw out a couple of ideas during Monday’s meeting.

Gary Clarke said he’d like to see the present grandstand torn down as it is never filled to capacity with no semi-professional teams in the city.

“Times have changed with so many things available in the form of entertainment and only minor baseball is using the field now,” said Clarke.

“Even on a tournament, they’re not getting those kind of numbers. If you look at what’s been done in Chatham or in Woodstock, they’ve gone with an approach to it with a new enclosed area, much smaller in size, but still would keep a large number of people out of the sun,” he added. “It would be accessible, and we could still dedicate the field itself in the space to Bob Emslie.”

Coun. Lori Baldwin-Sands wanted to look at naming rights, or sponsorships and discussed the option of bringing it back to a more multi-use space which could include concerts.

St. Thomas Minor Baseball is the main tenant right now and they’d like a seat at the table when it comes to discussing the future overhaul of the park which was built in 1898.

“Certainly, our preferred option is to maintain the existing grandstand. but there are parks around like Lacasse Park in Windsor, as well as Errol Russell Park in Sarnia which have some really nice grandstands that are newer and more modern,” said Derek Brooks, a board member with the St. Thomas Minor Baseball Association (STMBA).

He added, “The historic side of that big grandstand is sort of what we would be looking for and if there would be a way to incorporate some new seating into it, that would be a great add.”

While they admit with their tournaments, STMBA doesn’t see the same crowds as they once did, fans love to sit in the grandstand due to the atmosphere and character.

“When we build an arena, we certainly go to the hockey folks and say, ‘What are you doing?’” said Preston. “We built a huge soccer complex like 1Password Park, and we talked with the soccer folks. Let’s make sure everyone who has an opinion gets it. We’re also looking at a way to collect feedback and do public consultation better without it taking months.”

The decision on what to do with the grandstand will be part of the budgetary process next month.