photo by: Bremen Keasey

The mural painted outside the old concrete stands at the Municipal Stadium at Hobbs Park in East Lawrence. A group hopes to get the stadium nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, with hopes historic status could help get grants or tax incentives to revitalize the stadium.

A community group aiming to get historical preservation status for the Municipal Stadium in East Lawrence’s Hobbs Park, with the hopes of helping revitalize the structure and park, earned support from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday night.

The board voted 5-0 to support the group, called The Municipal Stadium in Hobbs Park Legacy Project, in sending a proposal to get the Municipal Stadium listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Andrew Stockmann, the curator of exhibitions at the Watkins Museum and head of the Legacy Project group, said the effort is centered on protecting the “community value and historical value” surrounding the stadium and park.

Stockmann said the stadium is used every week during the summer, with “hundreds of people” packing the stands many summer nights because of the Kaw Valley Kickball League games. If the stadium gets historic protected status, it can open up historic preservation tax credits or grants to find ways to improve the stadium and the park. Any improvements can potentially lead to expanded use in the future for a key meeting place in East Lawrence, Stockmann said.

“It is really a critical piece for our community,” Stockmann said.

Along with the community value, Stockmann noted that Lynn Zollner, the city’s Historic Resources Administrator, said the stadium would for sure be eligible for the national historic status. Stockmann said in his research through old Journal-World archives, he found the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues played there against the semi-pro Lawrence Colts in August 1949. That team included future Hall of Fame manager Buck O’Neill, who became the first Black coach in Major League Baseball, and Elston Howard, a future American League MVP who was the first Black player to play for the New York Yankees, Stockmann said.

If the stadium achieves historic status, Stockmann said the Legacy Project hopes to analyze the structure’s concrete seating bowl to make improvements and possibly restore features that used to be at the stadium, such as a concession stand or in-ground dugouts.

photo by: Bremen Keasey

The concrete stands at Municipal Stadium in Hobbs Park in East Lawrence. A community group aiming to

The estimated cost for the application will be $15,000, according to Stockmann, but local groups, including the Kaw Valley Kickball League and the Shelley Miller Charitable Trust, have pledged to provide about half of that funding so far. Other groups that have spoken with the Legacy Project include the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance and Hernly Associates.

Barry Shalinsky, the president of the neighborhood association, wrote as part of public comment to the board in support of the project. On behalf of the group, Shalinsky said the neighborhood association is happy to be a part of this grassroots effort to preserve these “important community landmarks for future generations,” and the group also plans to help raise funds to preserve the structures.

Jackie Becker spoke during public comment in support of the Legacy Project. Becker, who has played in the Kaw Valley Kickball League for 21 years, said people from the community will come out and grill hot dogs and hamburgers during some of the Sunday night games. Despite how much she loves the stadium and park, she noted there are cracks in the concrete of the stadium for seating and notes there is water damage as well. Becker said this would help protect a “special place” for the league and neighborhood.

“This would be a fantastic way of protecting the park and making it useful for the next generations,” Becker said.

Along with the stadium’s historic status, the group also hopes to get the Murphy-Bromelsick House, on the northwest corner of Hobbs Park, listed on the Kansas Register of Historic Places.