San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Where’s Willie? McCovey statue set aside for now
The Willie McCovey statue is an epic feature of the Oracle Park experience, and now it’s gone.
The statue of one of the most popular Giants in history is in storage as construction continues on the Mission Rock waterfront project across the cove named after the Hall of Fame first baseman.
The Giants say the statue, which was unveiled in 2003 to honor McCovey, is not expected to reappear across McCovey Cove until 2023, when Phase 1 of the project is complete.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing during this interim period,” Giants executive vice president Alfonso Felder said, “but we also want to make sure it’s stored safely and we don’t end up doing any damage to it during construction.”
The first phase includes four large buildings, including two 23story residential towers, and a 5acre waterfront park. The target date for completion is the final quarter of 2022, meaning it should be ready — with the statue back in place — by Opening Day 2023.
Felder said the statue would return to approximately the same spot. Moving it to another location during construction hasn’t been considered. The Giants also have statues of Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry on the premises.
“There’s a lot of conversation, where it should go at the end of the process, and everybody felt very strongly about keeping it in that location looking over the cove,” Felder said.
The Barry Bonds Junior Giants Field, which was alongside the McCovey statue, also was taken down.
John Shea covers the Giants for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnSheaHey