Stadium safe for baseball games, say engineers

Thursday night's game at Jack Russell was canceled after a city commissioner broke his foot when a 9-foot hole opened up.

By LEON M. TUCKER

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 2, 2001

CLEARWATER -- When engineers swept through the stands of Jack Russell Stadium on Friday afternoon, they pointed out cracks and weighed the ballpark's stability.

And even though a section of the park's stands fell out from under Clearwater Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton on Wednesday -- sending him on a 9-foot drop -- they determined the stadium was safe for a double-header Friday.

"They've made a decision not to open box seating and lower deck seating" until at least June 6, said Jackii Molsick, city spokeswoman. "But the upper-level seating will be open and we feel reassured that that is fine and safe for the public."

The structural problems with the city's 55-year-old stadium prompted officials from the Clearwater Phillies to cancel Thursday night's game and close the facility. They rescheduled the minor-league baseball game against the Vero Beach Dodgers for 6 p.m. Friday, which opened a double-header.

At the games, there were about 1,200 fewer seats than the regular 4,000 available to spectators.

"We're fine with that," said John Timberlake, director of Florida operations for the Philadelphia Phillies. "We can operate in a pretty much normal fashion with the exception of a few displaced season-ticket holders."

Timberlake said the collapse of the chunk of concrete may have been caused by corroded internal steel support, called rebar, in the section's steps.

"The old rebar corroded and chipped at the concrete and the ledge gave way," he said.

The city is planning to build a stadium for the Philadelphia Phillies on another site closer to U.S. 19 and Drew Street by early 2003.

Hamilton's swollen foot, meanwhile, dangled from the side of a picnic table outside the stadium Friday as he explained to reporters how the accident happened and how he is recovering from his injury.

"I'm doing well as anybody can can be expected to be doing with a broken foot," the 42-year-old Hamilton said. "I'm glad it was me and not somebody a little older who may not have been as fortunate."

The commissioner, at the urging of an acquaintance, said he entered the roped-off area between sections 1 and 2 Wednesday night to get a closer look at a 2-inch crack in the concrete support structure there. But when he stepped too close to the stressed area, a concrete slab collapsed.

On Friday, crews from David Nelson Construction of Palm Harbor worked to stabilize the damaged section of the stadium. McCarthy and Associates Inc. of Clearwater will survey the remaining box and lower-level seats to see whether similar problems are developing.

"Obviously the concern is for the safety of the fans," said John Cook, Clearwater Phillies general manager. "If it looks like the structure is crumbling, it's not good for the stadium, the city or the team."

Officials expect a report from McCarthy later this month. The team's last home game of the season is Aug. 30.

"We felt it was better to err on the side of caution in closing the entire lower deck, until we have a full understanding of the problem," said Kevin Dunbar, director of parks and recreation for the city. "We want to reassure Phillies fans that the upper deck is entirely safe."

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