As many as 20 companies are interested in submitting bids to demolish a once-popular sports stadium: City of Palms Park in Fort Myers.
The City of Fort Myers says representatives of 20 companies attended a mandatory pre-bid meeting at the park on Tuesday afternoon. That doesn't mean all of them will bid on the project, but some could do so.
City officials have said in public meetings that demolishing the stadium, the former spring training home of the Boston Red Sox, and clearing the roughly 13 acres, could cost at least $1 million.
Companies have to submit their demo bids by March 16. The Fort Myers City Council could vote as early as April 6 to award a contract to demolish the ballpark.
The stadium doesn't gleam in the sunlight as it once did, and air plants grow from cracks in the exterior.
Years of little use and minimal maintenance have made it a relic.
But there was a time that the City of Fort Myers wanted it badly. The city felt it needed a new ballpark to attract a spring training team, after Kansas City left Terry Park.
Glenn Miller is a former Fort Myers News-Press sports writer. He recalls the late 1980's, after the Kansas City Royals left in 1987.
"The Twins came here in '91, to what's now Lee Health Sports Complex," Miller said. "So for '88, '89 and '90, we had no team in Lee County. Then within four years, we had two."
Former Fort Myers Mayor Wilbur Smith led the cause, and the city made an agreement with the Boston Red Sox to move to a new stadium on the south edge of downtown. The city issued $24.7 million in bonds to build the park. Fort Myers also kicked in $1 million in reserve funds to close the deal. Today's cost probably would be ten times that, if not more.
Opening day was March 5th, 1993. Fans recall the feeling at City of Palms:
"It was small," Jeff Dedecker of Cape Coral said, referring to the seating capacity of at most 8,000. "Cozy and friendly. You met some great people at the ballpark. That atmosphere was just perfect."
During their time of spring training at the park, the Red Sox finally overcame the Curse of the Bambino - Babe Ruth. That superstition began when Boston sold Ruth and his prodigious talents to the New York Yankees. That was late 1919. In the early years of the 1900's, Boston had won several World Series Championships. After Ruth became a Yankee, New York emerged as the dominant team in the major leagues for decades to come. Boston languished, sometimes making the World Series, but ultimately coming out on the losing end of the games.
That changed in 2004. The Red Sox finally won the World Series — Boston's first title in 86 years.
Spring training games at City of Palms often were dramatic, and the star players, some of the best in baseball.
"Big Papi, David Ortiz, blasting a home run over the top of the batter's eye," Miller recalled. He was referring to the top the green area in center field that gives the batter a consistent background to see a pitch. "You stand at home plate, you can't imagine someone could do that. But David Ortiz did."
Miller also recalled great performances by shortstop Nomar Garciaparra and pitcher Pedro Martinez.
The Red Sox Nation included Stephen King, the famous horror fiction author. Miller said King was a regular at City of Palms, often watching from the press box.
"Very pleasant fellow," Miller said of King. "Amiable. No hint of: 'Hey, I'm famous.' He'd chat with you about — how do the Red Sox look? Or whatever."
But over a period of years at City of Palms, the Red Sox grew frustrated with the fact that the practice fields and minor league complex were two miles away from the stadium. So Boston moved to JetBlue Park, outside the city limits. That was 14 spring trainings ago. JetBlue has thousands more seats than the old place, and the practice fields are on the property.
Fort Myers tried to attract other teams to the park, or find other uses. Florida SouthWestern (FSW) State College played some baseball games there, but then left to play on the FSW campus in South Fort Myers. Major League Baseball teams found the facility too small for spring training, and probably too costly to re-model or enlarge.
Recent efforts to attract a soccer team also did not materialize. So the city council has acknowledged that the roughly 13 acres on the edge of downtown are far too valuable to sit idle. Parts of the old stadium are being saved, but city officials are realizing that the stadium has to go, and the ground cleared, to make way for new development. Fort Myers is paying a company to come up with ideas for a sports-related area on the grounds, as well as new housing and businesses.
Some long-time Red Sox fans still miss that City of Palms experience.
"I just liked the feeling," Bob Millen of Cape Coral said. "The homebodiness of the old ballpark. Everything seems a little bit closer. Everybody kind of knew everybody. People had worked there for years and years. I liked that you could park in somebody's backyard and pay them five dollars to park!"
"It's a melancholy moment," Glenn Miller said of what might happen to the park in the coming months. "This was a natural place. Very homey. An old-fashioned ballpark with a modern setting. It's sad to see."
Mike Walcher is a reporter with WGCU News. He also teaches Journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
