Sheldon S. Shafer

The Courier-Journal

State officials are taking initial steps to get rid of the dilapidated old Cardinal Stadium at the Kentucky Exposition Center, with demolition expected to start Monday.

The state Finance and Administration Cabinet, on behalf of the Kentucky State Fair Board that oversees the expo center and fairgrounds in Louisville, has awarded a contract to demolition company South End Services Inc. to tear down the bleachers at the old venue.

Demolition of the mostly steel and aluminum bleachers and some concrete-block restrooms under them will begin Monday and, under the contract, is to be completed within 60 days, said Amanda Storment, fair board spokeswoman. The contract allows the company to keep all the materials and to collect their recycled value, with the firm obligated to pay the state $65,000 for the right to possess the metal, she said.

The bleachers and restrooms haven't been used for several years, and have been fenced off.

The venue, which saw its first event in 1957 as Fairgrounds Stadium, has gone downhill since University of Louisville football games moved to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and minor league baseball games moved to Louisville Slugger Field in the late 1990s.

A state-commissioned engineering survey last year by Senler, Campbell & Associates Inc. concluded that the old stadium is "in a great state of disrepair and should be taken out of service at its earliest possible time."

The engineers found that the stadium's bricks and some stucco had fallen and that water has settled in some walls, causing structural weakness. Mold was found in spots, the facility has some lead paint, and masonry walls were deemed unstable and in need reinforcement, the study found.

Restrooms do not meet federal disability access standards, and many of the grandstand seats are rusted and some unsafe, the survey found.

The demolition of the rest of the stadium, however, depends on an allocation from the Kentucky General Assembly, with the razing expected to cost around $3 million, fair board officials have said. They have made a priority of seeking the demolition funding from the legislature, Storment said.

The stadium has been used almost exclusively for outdoor concerts during the Kentucky State Fair in recent years. And the fair board decided in spring 2013 not to use the stadium's grandstand for the concerts, because of the decrepit condition. The concerts are still held at the stadium, but on a temporary stage, with temporary seating set up on the lawn. The grandstand seated about 19,000 people.

In place of hundreds of horse stalls long situated under the stadium grandstand, more than 500 temporary stalls have been set up to accommodate the World's Championship Horse Show held during the fair.

Meanwhile, the fair board plans to hire a consultant to develop a new master plan for the expo center.

Clifford "Rip" Rippetoe, the fair board president and CEO, told state legislators in August that the plan will address what facilities should be developed at the old Cardinal Stadium site after it is demolished.

An amphitheater capable of handling crowds of around 10,000, including berm-style seating, has been discussed as a major fairgrounds need.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089. Follow him on Twitter at @sheldonshafer.