The grandstands of Orlando's Tinker Field will be demolished.
The Orlando City Council approved an ordinance Monday that will allow the grandstands to be bulldozed.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he plans for the demolition process to start as early as the week after next.
Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson were just a couple of the greats to play baseball on the historic field -- one of the oldest minor-league ballparks in the country.
The Orlando City Council approved an ordinance Monday that will allow the grandstands to be bulldozed.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he plans for the demolition process to start as early as the week after next.
Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson were just a couple of the greats to play baseball on the historic field -- one of the oldest minor-league ballparks in the country.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Video: Man's emotional plea at previous meeting to save the field
It's also where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the only speech he gave in central Florida.
Many of those who want to save Tinker Field said they believe that once the stands are torn down, the baseball field itself will become a grassy parking lot where baseball is never played again.
"Taking away more from the black community is not helping. It's another nail in the coffin," one resident said.
"This should be an argument about how we can find the financing to make this happen. The true test is not for us to rush to tear down, but how we can invest," Commissioner Sam Ings said.
"You cannot play baseball where that field is," said Commissioner Robert Stuart.
While the vote was split two weeks ago, this week the ordinance to designate Tinker Field as a historic landmark, while not creating a plan to preserve the stands, passed six to one.
Ings was the only commissioner to vote no.
Commissioner Patty Sheehan noted that proponents did succeed in getting the playing field preserved as a historic landmark.
The plans, more than a year ago, only called for the diamond to be preserved.
Many of those who want to save Tinker Field said they believe that once the stands are torn down, the baseball field itself will become a grassy parking lot where baseball is never played again.
"Taking away more from the black community is not helping. It's another nail in the coffin," one resident said.
"This should be an argument about how we can find the financing to make this happen. The true test is not for us to rush to tear down, but how we can invest," Commissioner Sam Ings said.
"You cannot play baseball where that field is," said Commissioner Robert Stuart.
While the vote was split two weeks ago, this week the ordinance to designate Tinker Field as a historic landmark, while not creating a plan to preserve the stands, passed six to one.
Ings was the only commissioner to vote no.
Commissioner Patty Sheehan noted that proponents did succeed in getting the playing field preserved as a historic landmark.
The plans, more than a year ago, only called for the diamond to be preserved.
WFTV
