Renovations on deck for Phil Welch Stadium in August

By Cameron Montemayor

On the heels of a St. Joseph Mustangs championship season, historic Phil Welch Stadium will see the first of many planned renovations in the coming weeks.

The first order of business will begin early to mid-August with a complete renovation of the right field party deck. Lumber on the deck will be replaced and the ramp will be reconstructed to make it more ADA compliant.

Deck work at the historic stadium, built in 1939, is one of several large renovations in the works as part of a $1.6 million parks tax-funded project approved by voters in 2021.

“Those are all starting now to kind of come to a head as far as the things we’re going to do,” said Chuck Kempf, St. Joseph’s director of Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities. “We want to be able to maintain the integrity of the facility and we want to do that through these improvements.”

Along with deck renovations, city council members on Monday are expected to approve an ordinance with Snyder & Associates to initiate a structural evaluation of the aging structure. If all goes accordingly, the evaluation will pave way for complete replacement of the grandstand concrete and seating.

“When you’re starting to deal with making significant changes to a structure that’s, you know, that’s over 80 years old … questions come up about, you know, what can it handle?” Kempf said. “That’s a big moment … the concrete is deteriorated and we want to replace that and then start dealing with the seating.”

Kempf said if there’s any chance of getting grandstand seating renovations started and complete next spring, it will be pursued, but only as long as it doesn’t disrupt the high school baseball season. If spring isn’t an option, work will likely take place next August.

The projects would follow large renovations that were already carried out to both the grandstand roof and press box.

“It’s special for the high school kids to get to play here. You know, you see a lot of smiles on faces when you get to walk in to Phil Welch Stadium, especially that first time,” he said.

The parks tax project also includes $65,000 in matching funds for the purchase of an all-new video scoreboard. In June, the St. Joseph Mustangs created a club, called the 1939 Club, to help generate remaining revenue for the scoreboard, one of many planned efforts meant to enhance, maintain and preserve Phil Welch Stadium.

St. Joseph Mustangs owner Ky Turner is thrilled see deck and preliminary structural work kick things off, one of many components meant to bring the historic stadium into a new century and hopefully, 80 more years of local baseball and entertainment.

“We go to other ballparks around the region and, you know, we can see pretty quickly how lucky we are to have it here in St. Joe,” Turner said. “But we also see the possibilities of what it could be. And, you know, I think that’s going to be a big part of helping set the stage for the future.”

Kempf agrees, lauding the Mustangs for their incredible track record of success not just on the diamond, but with the community, one that supports baseball as proudly as any.

“This is something that is special and I think the community has embraced it. The Mustangs have embraced it, and they do a great job of programming it better than anything that’s ever been done,” Kempf said.

With funding already in place, Kempf said the city is currently evaluating the wooden outfield fence to determine what direction to take with renovations to that section.

“We’ve got quite a bit going on. And hopefully in the future, you know, when we have other other funding mechanisms that we can look at some of the other improvements that are necessary,” Kempf said.