Johnnie B. Wiley - Progress Report

The Johnnie B. Wiley sports complex at Best/Jefferson and formerly known as the Rockpile, War Memorial Stadium and Civic Stadium - see, Somewhere in Masten for links to a nostalgic trip down memory lane - is finally seeing some action. The long awaited and debated reconstruction of the site and facilities is underway.

I stopped by on Friday afternoon and spoke to a construction manager. He told me that the HUD monies that had been tied up for close to a decade and that were further delayed another 5 weeks recently were just released last week. So on Thursday the trucks started to roll and renovations started. In addition to a new scoreboard, locker rooms and running track, Johnnie B. Wiley will get a new astro turf for the football field and a new in and out field for the baseball part of the complex. The project weighs in just under two million.

Today only the huge gates, imposing concrete ruins along Jefferson Avenue, are all that remains of what was once the crown jewel of the City's long involvement with the Works Progress Administration, the New Deal program that brought employment to millions during the height of the Depression. Constructed started in 1935 on Civic Stadium. Demolition began in 1988.

I'll start posting periodic reconstruction and renovation pics in the next few weeks and hope to know more about all the players that are contributing to this project's success.

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