Residents rally to save, restore historic Municipal Stadium in East Lawrence

Residents in East Lawrence are trying to give Municipal Stadium a second life before rust and concrete wear erase one of the city’s most recognizable sports landmarks. The effort is centered at Hobbs Park, 702 E. 11th Street, where neighbors, kickball players and community stakeholders are organizing around a simple goal: raise awareness, raise money and keep the field from sliding farther into decay.

The pitch is as much about neighborhood identity as baseball. If the stadium can be restored enough to win a place on the National Register of Historic Places, supporters say the project could become eligible for grants, tax credits and donations that would help pay for renovation. That kind of funding would matter at a site where the dugouts, press box, locker rooms and concession stand are long gone, even as the concrete stands and outfield screen continue to age in place.

Municipal Stadium carries a deep local past. The Lawrence Colts first used the field for a semi-professional game in July 1947, and more than 30,000 people attended 55 games that season. Two years later, the Kansas City Monarchs played there with Buck O’Neil managing the team, adding another layer to the site’s Negro League-era significance. A 2006 East Lawrence Neighborhood Association letter tied Hobbs Park to John Speer, John Brown and professional Negro League exhibition baseball games in the 1950s, while a 2004 city letter said the neighborhood had already been working for years to preserve and renovate Old Municipal Stadium.

The stadium’s condition has made the case for action more urgent. Lee Ice, who grew up four blocks away, said his childhood memories include hanging numbers on the scoreboard, chasing foul balls and serving as a batboy. Those memories now sit alongside visible deterioration, including spreading rust and the worn concrete structure that still anchors the site.

City documents show the preservation groundwork is already there. Hobbs Park was designated a landmark on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places in 2006, after the Lawrence City Commission took first reading on Ordinance No. 7972 on Feb. 7, 2006. City historic resources materials note that only four city-owned properties are on the local register, including Hobbs Park. The East Lawrence Neighborhood Revitalization Plan, adopted Nov. 21, 2000, specifically calls for supporting rehabilitation of Municipal Stadium at Hobbs Park.

That makes the debate bigger than one ballfield. The future of Municipal Stadium now sits at the intersection of neighborhood planning, public memory and the question of whether Lawrence wants to keep a civic landmark alive for the next generation of East Lawrence families, youth sports and community events.