Now that the new $34.5 million Alex Box Stadium has one season and a national championship under its belt, the old stadium has become a thing of the past.The old stadium is being overrun with weeds, the scoreboard that once flashed runs now flickers on and off and the attendance sign outside the stadium facing Nicholson Drive has been in shambles since Hurricane Gustav.All of these factors mean the demolition of the historic site is approaching fast, according to Eddie Nunez, associate athletic director for operations and project development.Part of the reason for the delay to the demolition is because of the upcoming football season, Nunez said.The construction would cause safety issues and fenced off areas around the demolition site and would take away parking and other valuable space around Tiger Stadium.Nunez said the plan for the remainder of this year is to remove all the bleachers and some of the lighting, along with other smaller parts, before football season begins. He added some of the stadium parts may be auctioned off.”Some of the bleachers are going to other schools in the LSU system that have requested them,” Nunez said. “Some of the lighting may also go to other LSU System schools. As far as the actual seating bowl, we are going to fence it off and keep it secure for the football season. We will try to utilize as much of the area around the stadium as possible as parking for the season.”Another issue with tearing down the facility is that it is a state building, according to Gary Graham, University director of parking, traffic and transportation.”You have to get everybody and their brother to sign off on it, and that’s what is holding everything up,” Graham said.What is more uncertain about the site is its future, which both Graham and Nunez said is up for debate.”We are going to bring the stadium down, but it’s just a question of what we are going to do with it,” Nunez said. “There are so many things on the table right now, but nothing has been 100 percent decided on.”Graham said some discussions have been centered around making the site a parking garage, although other suggestions, like a mall or more married housing, have been suggested.”There have been some preliminary discussions,” Graham said. “But as of now, it’s on hold as to which way we are going to go with it.”LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri said he was pleased the 2008 team could send the “old lady” out in an appropriate manner. He added he would like to see some type of plaque as a reminder of the stadium.”I think without a doubt we have to put something there to memorialize what was once a spot on campus that attracted thousands of people and created a lot of exciting moments,” Mainieri said.
OTHER UPGRADESNunez said some other upgrades and demolitions are also happening with a few other stadiums around the University’s campus.One of the upgrades coming up in the summer of 2010 is the surface of the Bernie Moore Track Stadium, according to Nunez.”We are putting a new skin on the entire competition area,” Nunez said. “In doing so, we are going to look at widening the lanes and come back with a whole new surface. The surface that we have out there right now is OK, but it’s not at the level that we want it to be. We need to have a first class facility for our student-athletes.”The decision to wait until next year was a combination of the amount of other construction going on right now and budget cuts, according to Nunez.The track is 10 years old, but it has a lot of patches on it, Nunez said.”The design work will be done fairly soon,” Nunez said. “But instead of starting this summer, or starting in the fall and affecting the whole track season, we sat down with coach [Dennis Shaver] and asked him if we can make it through another year. He said, ‘Absolutely.'”While those upgrades are happening, another demolition will be happening to an old park — Tiger Park.He added the bleachers and lighting will also be given to other LSU System schools, and Nunez said its future is also up in the air..”That’s another work in progress,” Nunez said. “We will leave it as a grass field there for the time being until the master plan takes shape, which might be a parking garage in the future.”—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]