Once an eyesore, Joe Davis Stadium wraps up $29 million facelift

Once an eyesore, Joe Davis Stadium wraps up $29 million facelift

This is not the Joe Davis Stadium of yesteryear, the deteriorating minor league baseball stadium the former Huntsville Stars abandoned in 2015.

It’s in the same place, has (and will keep) the same name and it’s largely the same configuration. But after a $29 million investment, it’s not the same place.

Related: Look inside Huntsville’s dilapidated minor league baseball stadium

Related: Does rundown Joe Davis Stadium have a useful future?

Come May 19, it will be the home of the Huntsville City Football Club – the minor league soccer team that’s embarked on its inaugural season. But in giving a sneak peek at the stadium Monday, a point of emphasis was that it was not strictly a soccer stadium.

“We’re very excited about that,” Mayor Tommy Battle said of the soccer team. “But this is still a multipurpose stadium. It’s a multipurpose stadium for soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse, maybe even field hockey at some point. So, we have a lot of great things that can happen here.”

In fact, the stadium renovations were in motion before the soccer team was finalized.

Even the soccer team acknowledged it is more than a soccer stadium.

“This is a community gathering,” said Chad Emerson, managing director of business operations for the soccer team. “We’re going to have high school football from Huntsville City Schools to play here in the fall. We’re going to see a lot of other sporting events. We’re going to see a lot of other private events, concerts, and things like that.

“If it can be done in a rectangular open-air facility, it can be done at Joe Davis.”

The most recognizable change on the stadium’s exterior are the permanent bleachers built in what once was the outfield – stretching from the right field line to centerfield and opposite of the long stretch of seats along what once was the left field foul line. It provides a more conventional setting for soccer and football with seats on both sidelines.

Terrace seating has also been built in the east end zone as a sort of berm for fans to spread a blanket and watch the game without the confines of a reserved seat.

Capacity has been reduced from 10,000 for baseball to about 6,000 for soccer. Much of the contraction came in the removal of seats closest to the field as part of the stadium renovation.

In addition to the money spent on the renovation, the city has also funded about $5 million in landscaping and infrastructure improvement outside the stadium. Among the noticeable changes are what city officials said was the planting of about 300 trees around the stadium and throughout the parking lot that now has grass curbs.

A mixed-use development was announced last year on the site of the former Hollywood 18 movie theaters adjacent to the stadium and a yet-to-be-announced hotel is expected to be a part of development around the stadium as well.