By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
Ark Wrecking Company, Tulsa, Oklahoma, began the demolition of the concrete grandstands at Al Simpler Stadium in Junction City Thursday. The upper portion was knocked down first.
Spokesman Robert Fisk said they used an excavator and careful precision to do the job.
Fisk said they started at the top and worked to the bottom of the stadium, "to keep it safe and keep things coming down the way we want to." The grandstands were already crumbling. "Yes, it was in bad shape. It's pretty easy to come down."
Ark Wrecking is a subcontractor for Hutton Construction, the general contractor for the demolition project. Tim Chadd, Superintendent with Hutton said that they didn't know what to expect on tearing down the grandstand until they got into it. "So far it's been a really smooth process. We had a hand crew come in and take out the ticket boxes and the press box and now we're just down to steel and concrete. That material will be recycled.
The grandstand removal is part of an overall to demolish the old Junction City High School now that a new JCHS is operating on the west side of the city.
The turfed football field and running track at the Al Simpler Stadium site will be retained and kept in use in the future. The stadium that served as the home for Blue Jay football, track and field, and in later years JCHS boys and girls soccer, first opened in 1965.
