Last pitch for LaGrave Field? Fort Worth baseball park falls into disrepair
“So much is going on, but right now it can’t be shared,” Presswood said.
Shingleton and other Fort Worth leaders said there is a plan in the works to possibly swap land owned by the Tarrant Regional Water District, but he couldn’t provide details.
Whether the water district is willing to engage in such a swap isn’t clear. An arm of that agency known as the Trinity River Vision Authority is building an ambitious, $900 million-plus project known as Panther Island, which includes the re-channeling of the river and development of surrounding area into a high-end, mixed-use commercial and residential neighborhood.
LaGrave Field was built on land that would become part of Panther Island once the river is re-channeled. And the Trinity River Vision Authority has many acres of land that — theoretically, at least — could be swapped.
Fort Worth lawyer Jim Lane, a member of the Tarrant Regional Water District, is among the believers. But he said the key is for the city, Tarrant County and the water district to work together and find a solution that puts the ballpark in public hands. That way, he said, the Cats can return to play without worrying as much about whether their lease will be renewed.
“Not a day has gone by since the Cats last played that I haven’t tried to figure out how to bring them back,” Lane said. “We’re working on a couple of things right now — the city, the county and the water district. The Cats are the oldest baseball team in Texas. They are part of Fort Worth’s heritage. Here we are spending all this money on the Stockyards and Panther Island and the ballpark is deteriorating. It shouldn’t happen. A lot of us are just not going to let it happen.”
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