BISD could demolish South Park stadium

The old football stadium behind South Park Middle School is going to be demolished, per a recent decision by the Beaumont ISD board. Photo taken Wednesday, November 14, 2018 Kim Brent/The Enterprise The old football stadium behind South Park Middle School is going to be demolished, per a recent decision by the Beaumont ISD board. Photo taken Wednesday, November 14, 2018 Kim Brent/The Enterprise Photo: Kim Brent/The Enterprise Photo: Kim Brent/The Enterprise Image 1 of / 122 Caption Close BISD could demolish South Park stadium 1 / 122 Back to Gallery

South Park Stadium, the last vestige of a beloved Beaumont high school, could soon be razed because the deteriorated bleachers pose a safety hazard, a school official said.

Beaumont ISD board members will vote Thursday on whether the stadium, press box, restrooms, concession stand and their foundations should be demolished.

Students at South Park Middle School, built on the site of the old high school, use the running track around the football field during physical-education classes. But BISD spokeswoman Nakisha Burns said the rest of the facility is in disrepair.

The $58,187 stadium demolition would be paid through the district's general fund.

The stadium was once the "center core" of activity at South Park High School, which was demolished on Good Friday 2010 despite the Beaumont Heritage Society's battle to preserve the 87-year-old landmark.

"I can't believe that BISD is going to finally tear down the last of South Park," 1969 graduate Miriam Cade Nichol said. "It hits me very hard in my heart.".

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The old school, home of the Greenies, still "means a lot to a lot of people," Nichol said.

But 1963 graduate Liz Sandell questioned whether keeping the stadium matters now that the school is gone.

"South Park wasn't a high school, it was a community," she said.

Sandell said her senior year was the first time the Greenies went to the football quarterfinals.

There was a lot of "going steady, dating in that stadium," Sandell said, adding that the venue was a popular spot for date nights or a meeting place before heading to the iconic Pig Stand.

School pep rallies took place on the football field and, she said, graduations were held there "back in the olden days."

Those and other memories live on through South Park's active alumni groups.

"The Greenies are still strong," Nichol said.

