The big berm and scoreboard at Joe Davis Stadium that “Parkway Jose” Canseco smashed bombs over is gone. So, too, is the double-wall outfield fence where raccoons lived and occasionally appeared. The concourse, once teeming in late summer with chatter, music and occasional playoff cheering, is quiet.

The 35-year-old stadium is undergoing renovations for a new life. Six years after the Stars quit the city and ran away to Biloxi for a shiny new stadium, “The Joe” is getting a major facelift. The City of Huntsville and Chapman Sisson Architects are partnering to convert the stadium into a multi-use facility.

“This is a renovation of the entire stadium,” Ricky Wilkinson, director of General Services for the City of Huntsville, said earlier this year in a statement. “A state-of-the-art scoreboard, audio-visual system, infrastructure for media broadcasts, new field lighting, updated seating and new concession areas are among the changes.”

Front entrance to the old Joe Davis Stadium

Once the Stars departed in 2014 for the Gulf Coast, rumblings and rumors about the stadium, possibly a new team and other scuttlebutt made the rounds. Nothing happened, other than the Biloxi team played 15 games at Joe Davis Stadium in spring 2015 since its new stadium wasn’t completed.

After that, crickets. Literally. The Joe’s fence gates stayed locked. Weeds immediately took over in the once immaculate field that was home to Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Terry Steinbach, Scott Brosius and others on the Oakland A’s and Ricky Weeks Jr., Ryan Braun and Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The stadium seats almost 10,500. It has hosted high school football games, NCAA baseball regional championships, concerts, monster truck rallies and other events. But it was best known as the home to the Stars, especially after the A’s popularity and championships of the early 1990s. The first Stars game was April 19, 1985, with the team winning, 10-0, over Birmingham. Canseco smashed a grand slam to set the tone early for his short stay in the city.

What’s Next?

Weeds in the grass? No problem in the future, as artificial turf is to be installed for easier maintenance and heavier traffic with more events. Planned updates include totally renovated locker rooms, public bathrooms and areas, an athletic storage building, landscaping and more. The drab, beige outer shell will become a more visually appealing façade.

What was once a baseball field, now turned weeds and dirt, will soon be converted into artificial turf for future sporting events

Best of all, the field will be transformed into a home for multiple sports events including football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, ultimate Frisbee and other events. The stadium was built on the city’s old airport grounds, which stretches south and includes the Jaycee’s community building, soccer fields, tennis courts and the new running course built on the old Municipal golf course. More is coming to the running course, and a new skateboard park is in development on the property, too.

Rubble near a tunnel soon to be turned into an improved Joe Davis stadium

Joe Davis Stadium is the most visible of those public facilities to drivers on the Parkway or Leeman Ferry Drive, though. The changes have warranted questions about what’s happening and what’s coming. In the city update last spring, City Administrator John Hamilton said the stadium seating will be reduced to about 6,000 but amenities will be improved.

“An important aspect of our design process has been the advice received from coaches, band directors and TV broadcast teams from Huntsville City Schools, in addition to implementing the standards required for professional soccer as we pursue that opportunity,” Hamilton said. “We need a stadium that is smaller, approximately 6,000 seats, and provides amenities and entertainment value beyond the competition on the field.”

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2022 prior to the high school football season. Having a third stadium in the city for prep football, counting the one at Alabama A&M, will ease the scheduling hassles for high school teams. It also will return the lights and action to a familiar venue.

“We are excited to start the second life of this important venue,” Hamilton said. “The young generations of today will get the chance to build lasting memories of The Joe like their parents and grandparents did during the first 40 years of the stadium’s life.”

Photo Credits: Alan Clemmons