A collective of Lawrence organizations are raising money to preserve the Municipal Stadium at Hobbs Park after nominating it for a national historic registry. The group will host a public listening session to discuss the project.
The listening session will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 7 at the East Lawrence building that formerly housed Bon Bon!, 804 Pennsylvania St. Organizers will have poster boards about the stadium’s history and the current project, and attendees can share their memories of the facility.
The Hobbs Legacy project is a community-led effort to generate donations to preserve the historic stadium at Hobbs Park for the National Register of Historic Places. Folks can donate through the Douglas County Community Foundation at this link.
“Our group is looking forward to engaging with the public at this listening session,” Andrew Stockmann, curator at the Watkins Museum of History and leader of the preservation project, said in a news release. “We have submitted a draft of a National Register of Historic Places nomination for Municipal Stadium and are raising funds to complete a Historic Structure Report, which will provide engineering-backed recommendations of how to move forward with repairing the concrete grandstand and master planning the site.”
According to the Kaw Valley Kickball League’s project page, the field has been around since 1947.
“Over the years, the stadium has hosted Negro League games, youth baseball, adult softball, and today serves as home to the Kaw Valley Kickball League — continuing a rich legacy of inclusive, community-centered recreation,” the page reads.
If the Municipal Stadium got on the National Register of Historic Places, it would be eligible for state and federal tax credits, as well as grant funding for repairs and upgrades.
The project is a partnership between public and private groups, including the city’s Parks, Recreation and Culture department, the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association, the Watkins Museum of History and more.
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