BURBANK : Demolition of Stadium Started

Workers began to demolish Olive Memorial Stadium in Burbank this week, ending a long battle between officials who wanted to replace the condemned structure with a new facility and preservationists who argued for saving it.

The 48-year-old stadium is being torn down to make way for a softball complex with four fields, which will be built at a cost of about $500,000 and should be completed by summer, said Jan Bartolo, a project manager with the city’s parks and recreation department.

Demolition of the building and the clearing of debris is expected to be completed this week.

The Burbank City Council voted last year to raze the stadium, citing the high cost of bringing the structure up to current earthquake standards and the need for a larger facility to accommodate local softball leagues.

The stadium’s locker rooms, dugout and concrete bleachers, which seated up to 1,100 people, have been closed since 1989 because of concerns about quake safety.

Olive Memorial’s claim to fame came between 1949 and 1952, when it was the spring training site for the St. Louis Browns--a team known for having one of the worst records in major league baseball history. During the years the Browns trained at the stadium, the team accumulated a record of 3,414 wins and 4,465 losses in 52 seasons, but won the hearts of Burbank residents who came to see them play.

The stadium was also home to high school baseball teams, Burbank on Parade and the Los Angeles Rams professional football team, which sometimes practiced at the site.

City officials said a sculpted concrete column and a set of plaques honoring World War II veterans will be preserved and relocated when the new softball complex is built.