In a report to members of city council at the Nov. 3 meeting dealing with the Emslie Field grandstand, Cody Montgomery, Manager of Parks and Forestry, noted, “Due to ongoing concerns regarding its structural integrity and compliance with AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) standards, the city retained POW Peterman Consulting Engineers to complete a formal structural assessment.”
And for the sake of safety, the grandstand will be closed until structural repairs are completed.
Coun. Lori Baldwin-Sands asked for the report recommendations to be expanded to explore sponsorship opportunities.
“Naming rights and possible additional advertising as revenue streams for Emslie Field. Also, ways to increase capacity, taking it away from a single source use to multiple uses.
“In the past, we had Emslie Field as a concert area. We had the RCMP Musical Ride. We had band tattoo and Canada Day activities all done inside the field itself.
“Which made it a source of pride for people to come and attend and take part in many of the activities, and I would like to see that happen again.”
And if the grandstand is renamed in a sponsorship agreement, Baldwin-Sands would like to see a plaque installed commemorating Bob Emslie and his contributions to baseball.
Coun. Gary Clarke proposed an alternate plan of action.
“I guess my approach would be to tear down the present grandstand.
“I’d rather this council look at budget time. From what I’m reading here, we’ve got a little bit more work to do before we can come back with a real plan.”
Crowds of several thousand spectators were not uncommon in the heyday of Emslie Field; however, that is but a distant memory.
Clarke continued, “Minor baseball is using the field now and even in a tournament, they are not getting those kinds of numbers.
“If you look at what’s been done in Chatham or Woodstock, they’ve gone to a new enclosed area, much smaller in size, but it still would keep a large number of people out of the sun.
“It would be accessible and, again, we could still dedicate the field itself and the space to Bob Emslie, but not at the cost that we’re looking at for repairing the site.”
Mayor Joe Preston closed out the discussion with, “I’d like us to get a little bit more research as to what could also be done.
“But I’m a bit distraught that we keep getting things in the fall that are talking about the capital budget, and until the capital budget is done, I don’t know why we can speak of what will happen.
“I’d rather this council look at budget time. From what I’m reading here, we’ve got a little bit more work to do before we can come back with a real plan.”
Budget deliberations at the council level begin next month, and so the future of the grandstand will remain in limbo until that time.
Written by Ian McCallum
