Birmingham City Council approves money to fix Rickwood Field

Rickwood Field, the Magic City’s historic minor-league baseball park, will get some much-needed structural repairs.

The Birmingham City Council, at its regular meeting for Tuesday, Jan. 9, voted 7-0 to accept a bid of $1,006,400 from JJ Morley Enterprises of Birmingham to do the work, which city engineer Andres Bittas said he expects to be completed in the spring.

“The intention is to have this done by the Rickwood Classic,” Bittas said, referring to the annual throwback game that the Birmingham Barons play at the park, usually in May.

Rickwood, which was built in 1910 as a home for the Barons, was closed for safety reasons in April 2017.

Bittas told the council in May that the city — while inspecting the vintage  ballpark in preparation for some other planned upgrades — had found “structural deficiencies” in the bleachers and elsewhere.

The 2017 Rickwood Classic, which was scheduled for May 31, was then moved to Regions Field.

“These repairs have been needed for some time,” said Councilor Steven Hoyt. ”It’s a historic stadium, or baseball field. It’s the oldest one in the country, and we want to preserve it.”

“I know the Friends of Rickwood Field are dancing,” said City Council President Valerie Abbott, referring to the non-profit group that has managed the park since 1992.

To see an Iron City Ink photo gallery of Rickwood Field, click here.

Other business

As part of its consent agenda, the council voted to accept a bid of of $195,900 from A.G. Gaston Construction of Birmingham to renovate Harriman Park.