Calgary bids farewell to Foothills Stadium, the home of the Calgary Cannons minor league baseball team for nearly two decades, as crews worked to tear down the aging facility.
The stadium, a piece of Calgary’s sports history, opened in 1966, and several baseball teams called this place home, including the Calgary Cannons from 1985-2002 before it moved to New Mexico.
Foothills Stadium became the home of the Calgary Cardinals, the city’s first professional team, in 1977. Recently, it’s been home to the University of Calgary Dinos baseball team.
With the facility being reduced to rubble, Calgary sports writer Darren Haynes, who spent 16 seasons in the press box covering several jobs for the Cannons, says it’s the “end of an era.”
“It brings back the great times, and then you realize that it’s no more,” Haynes told CityNews on Wednesday.
He worked at Foothills Stadium in 1986, working the ball/strike board in the press box and doing different jobs–even playing the music in the stadium.
“Eventually, I took journalism in school, and from there I’d be doing the ball/strike board while I had my laptop in my lap writing the story at the same time.”
Haynes says seeing the place, where his dreams of covering sports become a reality, being demolished is difficult to watch.
“This came out of left field, pardon the pun for me, that the stadium was basically — the wrecking ball was coming to it. Here I am, a day after finding out, and the stands are gone. It happened so quickly,” he said.
Joe MacFarland, host of the Alberta Dugout Stories Podcast, grew up cheering on the Cannons, and holds fond memories of watching the team over the years.
He says when he became aware of the demolition, Cannons owner Russ Parker immediately came to mind.
“Here’s a guy who really did everything he could to get that stadium up to the point of being this really kind of religious place for baseball in Calgary and across western Canada,” he explained.
“Unfortunately now he’s watching this thing that he’s poured his life’s work into meet the wrecking ball.”
The ball park’s demolition is to make room for a new multisport fieldhouse — something MacFarland feels the city is long overdue for.
“As much as I’m a baseball guy, I’m a sports person in general and I’ve always said, saying back to my days as a reporter, that this city is in dire need of a field house. It needs three field houses,” McFarland said.
The City of Calgary has committed $109 million to revitalize Foothills Athletic Park. The city is awaiting funding approval from the province.
Costs were initially expected to be around the $300 million mark but have now soared to an estimated price tag of $380 million.