As you may have heard, City Hall unlocked the gates of Ray Winder Field on Saturday morning and let scavengers come in to claim the historic chairs from the old ballpark. I didn't go because I got two years ago, and then I got two more later on. Word to the wise -- they rot if your plan is to put them in the ground outside but are fine under a covered porch.
I didn't go, but here's some reaction from some who did as recorded on the Arkansas Times website...
It's a piece of our history that some people disregard and want to get rid of. You can build another ballpark in Chicago, but it wouldn't be Wrigley Field. You can build another ballpark in North Little Rock and name it after two rich people, but it's not going to be the greatest game on dirt. -- Citizen
So sad. It makes me think of that old Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi.. " UAMS paved paradise and put up a parking lot" -- MondoLilRocker
I wasted 2 hrs standing in line this morning waiting on free seats from Ray Winder Field. They handed out tickets AFTER the doors open. Then only 440 tickets were given out (out of 500) because of the way the seats were removed. Very poor planning on someone's part. Why not hand out tickets as people are walking up to stand in line, or maybe create a website that let people get a "first come first service" ticket? Lots of angry people waited 2 hrs. (over 1000 showed up) I would have been fine driving up and someone says "sorry, all tickets are gone", but make me wait around for 2 hrs is ridiculous. -- Chad
I too was there this morning and was not lucky enough to get anything but an old old board, a cup, and a poster. Bill signed all of them and took his picture with me and anyone else who wanted to. To plainjim, I would bet a two week paycheck that the people in that line were there to commemorate their memories and their parents memories of being at Ray Winder. It was worth it to stand in line and get in one more time and hear the stories of the people around me. One lady had lied to her husband and if she got a seat was giving it to her husband on Monday for their wedding anniversary. I"m sure a few are gonna sell theirs and shame on them, but the majority were there for the same reason this bleacher creature was. It was cloudy today, but still didn't rain at Ray Winder Field. -- Tilly
That was a miserable experience. We arrived at 6:30 a.m. and waited in line over four hours. They eventually gave out tickets numbered up to 440. They told us that we weren't guaranteed to get seats but that there should be that many. I was number 362 and dead leaves and dirty screws were all that were left by the time I got inside. I do not agree with Mr. Moore. I was not glad that we were able to "have this day." I agree with Ron that their should have been an auction or web site to sell them and they could have raised tens of thousands of dollars. For a city with such a poorly run budget, that seems like a no-brainer to me. Everyone I spoke to at the park said they would have paid for them. I would guesstimate that over 1,000 people left disappointed. -- SkyBo53
This is one more shining example of the gross incompetence with which City Manager Moore and the rest of the City of Little Rock leadership has handled Ray Winder Field. That legacy of inept, bumbling neglect, coupled with incredibly stupid decisions, is a legacy that predates the current "leadership" of Little Rock, and is one reason we have a nice new ballpark in North Little Rock.
We were there for Ray Winder Field's last crowd. We would have liked to get a seat (we didn't) but we were really there to pay our respects one last time to a piece of baseball history, a Little Rock landmark. Everything about the seat give away was bungled. The seats could easily have been sold for $50 or $100 per seat, with the money going to charity (or to the Parks Department budget !!!) The "rule" of only one set of seats per family was observed only in its violation. The seats had been sectioned haphazardly, destroying some seats unnecessarily. Others had been left bolted to the stadium, the 70+ year old bolts resisting those who would disturb them. Those who thought to bring tools, such as chisels, hammers, hacksaws and bolt cutters were able to retrieve these last seats - again no thanks to the City of LR.
The only person with the City of Little Rock who handled the event very professionally was a LRPD Sergeant who helped hand out the numbered tickets to the waiting line, and who walked up and down the LONG line of fans numerous times, explaining that they likely would not get seats, but that they could come in and see the stadium one last time.
May the present mayor and city manager be long remembered as the guys in control when another Little Rock landmark, Ray Winder Field, was lost. Its not a legacy of which to be proud.
Posted by: Trav fan | May 17, 2011 at 08:05 AM
No one gives them enough credit, but UAMS is also one of the villains here. A parking lot? For what building?
Posted by: St. Vincent Coleman | May 17, 2011 at 09:21 AM