Demolition work on 63-year-old Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, will begin Jan. 24, WAVE 3 News reports.
Originally built in 1956 as Fairgrounds Stadium, the site served as home of the University of Louisville football team for 40 years. It was also home to the Louisville Colonels minor league baseball team for 5 years, and in 1982, the stadium was renovated to accommodate the minor league Louisville Redbirds. That same year, the stadium’s name was changed to Cardinal Stadium.
In 1998, the University of Louisville football team moved to a new stadium and the minor league baseball team, then known as the Riverbats, vacated in 2000. The moves resulted in the vacancy of the stadium’s two largest tenants; however, Cardinal Stadium still was utilized for various other high school and college sporting events in the following years.
After seating areas were declared unsafe in 2013, the stadium’s field was used to accommodate guests during concerts held in conjunction with the Kentucky State Fair.
Part of the stadium’s bleachers were removed and sold for scrap metal in 2014.