ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9 has obtained a letter which says the city of Orlando is recommending that the grandstands at Tinker Field be removed.
In the letter from Orlando Venue Executive Director Allen Johnson to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Johnson said city staff is recommending Tinker Field be designated an Orlando Historical Landmark.
According to the letter, it is recommended that the grandstands be removed and that the infield and outfield be repurposed "to maintain the historic field but allow the space to be used for festivals and other community events."
READ: Letter to Mayor Dyer
In the letter, Johnson cites an estimated cost of $10 million if the city elected to renovate the grandstands and bring them up to current code.
The letter said a group has been designated to identify historic events that took place at Tinker Field and that an appropriate historic marker or display would be created for the site.
Just one day before the city broke ground on the multimillion-dollar Citrus Bowl renovations in early 2014, city staff revealed that the renovations would encroach on the baseball field making it unusable.
People were outraged.
"Surprises are never good things," said Doug Head with Saving Tinker Field.
Channel 9 later learned that Dyer learned about the issue with Tinker Field five months before the groundbreaking.
"There was enough secretiveness about moving into the Tinker Field area that it made everyone upset, and it upset people who would normally not be upset," said Head.
For more than a year Channel 9 has followed the grassroots fight to preserve baseball on the field where Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson once ran the bases.
On Thursday, leaders of the movement said they believe they scored a home run after assurances from city staff that the historic field won't be turned into a parking lot.
"(I'm) probably more relieved than I have been in almost a year now," said Emmett O'Dell with Saving Tinker Field.
"There will be baseball here forever," said Head.
Channel 9's Lori Brown also learned Thursday that the Brevard Manatees have expressed interest in the field, but the owner wants the city to approach them first if the city is interested.
"Do you believe right now, you've saved Tinker Field?" Brown asked O'Dell.
"I don't believe I have. I believe a lot of people bringing it to the attention of the public have," said O'Dell.
Friday marks the 51st anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. speaking from the pitcher's mound to a crowd in the stands.
The recommendation to remove the grandstands and designate the field a historical site will go to the Orlando City Council Monday
WFTV
