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LAS CRUCES - A longtime Las Cruces sports icon, the grandstand at Apodaca Park, is about to go away.
It's been around since 1950. Longtime Mayfield coach Jim Bradley played there in younger days, so did former state representative Ed Boykin, former governor Jerry Apodaca, and five-time Major League Baseball All-Star Joe Carter - and that's just a very short list. Many a baseball dream for a Bulldog - and Bulldawg, Trojan, Knight, and even New Mexico State University Aggie has been shared there, and it's been a place where some baseball careers faded away.
Not much of the ballpark itself has changed since 1950. Its covered grandstand is a throwback to those long-gone days of baseball being played during the day. For some, Apodaca Park is the poor man's comparison to more prominent baseball parks, like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.
"It's had that old-time feeling, old time charm," said Rico Borrego, a retired Las Cruces construction worker, who admitted to playing "a game or two" at Apodaca as a much younger man.
A "sign" of change
But there
"The wood in the grandstand hasn't been replaced since 1966," said city Public Works Director Mark Johnston. "Although there's no imminent danger, the structural analysis has determined that some of the steel joints in the grandstand are bearing more weight than is required by today's codes."
So, renovations will have to be made. Johnson said a "bleacher kit" will be installed behind home plate, and the new structure will take up about 25 feet of the grandstand area that, before now, was designated for box seats. The new bleachers will seat about 360 spectators.
Crews have already begun surveying the area in preparation of installing the new bleachers. Because of the work and the compromised condition of the mostly wooden grandstand, that area of the ballpark will be off limits to spectators for at least the next 2 1/2 months. Games will continue to be played at Apodaca, but fans will have to sit in temporary bleachers that have been installed along the first- and third-base lines.
Nobody put out
High school baseball games played there will be affected most. The installation of new bleachers isn't anticipated to be finished until early May. But the new seating configuration has be installed in time for the Las Cruces Vaqueros minor-league baseball team to play its home games there this summer. The Vaqueros have a lease with the city to use Apodaca Park.
Andrew Dunn, owner of the Vaqueros, and commissioner of the Pecos League, the independent minor league that his team will play in this season - along with the White Sands Pupfish, from Alamogordo; the Alpine (Texas) Cowboys, Carlsbad Bats, Roswell Invaders and Ruidoso Osos - said Apodaca Park's grandstand was a reason why he brought a baseball team to Las Cruces.
"When I put the team in Las Cruces, I went to about 25 cities. I liked the grandstand. It fit perfectly," Dunn said.
But, he's a bit disappointed to hear it's going to be coming down.
"We'll lose a little personality," Dunn said. "But what are you going to do? It's our home.
However, Las Cruces High School baseball coach Gil Padilla said he and coaches and players at the other two city high schools should be able to adapt.
"It's not so much a big deal, and playing at Apodaca is neat," Padilla said. "It's for a short period of time and I think we'll be OK."
The first games at Apodaca with the change in seating, and the grandstand off limits, will be March 5 when Las Cruces High plays host to Albuquerque La Cueva in a doubleheader.
Louis Velasco, an O-ate baseball fan, said he, too, is willing to adjust.
"It doesn't really bother me," Velasco said. "The fans are so close to the players, coaches and umpires, my concern is really with them. The view of the field will not be the best seats in the house, but my concern is with the players, coaches and umpires being so close."
Johnston said while the new seating is being erected, access to concessions and restrooms won't be compromised.
"It's planned that the renovation would be conducted in two phases," Johnston said. "The first phase would involve installing the 'bleacher kit' behind home plate. After the season is over, the plan would then be to demolish the grandstand and possibly replace it with some type of canopy or canopies.
"Either way, the grandstand would not return and the seating would probably not be as high as the grandstand is now."
The costs
Johnston said the estimated cost for both phases of renovation could amount to as much as $500,000. About $225,000 would be needed to install a "bleacher kit" behind home plate by May 1, and that would likely have to be an emergency expense incurred by the city.
City Manager Robert Garza said it could be conceivable the initial expense could be approved administratively, but he is more inclined to have it considered by city council. According to the Las Cruces City Charter, Garza, as city manager, would be allowed to administratively approve any emergency expense of $35,000 or less, without council approval.
"For something that would cost $200,000 or more, I, personally, would prefer that the council consider it," Garza said.
Mayor Ken Miyagishima said if renovations are needed at Apodaca, he would be inclined to support them.
"If it's a safety issue then the safety of our residents has to come first," Miyagishima said. "But I could also see how some of those improvements could also benefit Apodaca Park, and I'd be in support of that."
Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452.
Apodaca Park
•The baseball field at Raymond Apodaca Park, 801 E. Madrid Ave., opened in 1950.
•It has had a covered grandstand since it opened.
•The grandstand has a steel frame, but the rest of it is made of wood.
•Except for isolated repairs, the last time the wood in the grandstand was replaced was 1966.
•Under the ballpark's current configuration, its seating capacity is approximately 1,000.
•About 200 games are played there annually.
•The field is used by the Las Cruces Vaqueros, an independent minor league baseball team, for high school baseball games, the New Mexico High School North-South baseball series, the city's Christian league, the Old Timers league, and American Legion games played in the summer.
