STADIUM TOPPLES, MEMORIES RISE

Demolition of Ely Stadium makes way for a next phase at the all-new stadium complex

The historic Ely Stadium press box where numerous announcers shouted plays and football enthusiasts recorded scores for decades was reduced to rubble July 11.

Construction crews at the stadium site of Elyria City Schools on Middle Avenue began the demolition early afternoon.

The seats were removed from the grandstands before the workers removed the press box.

Elyria High School Pioneers and some residents stopped by to watch the demolition, take photos, reminisce and gather bricks left behind.

Soon after the Elyria High graduation June 6, crews began taking down the visitor stands and light poles.

The Ely Stadium grandstand was built 91 years ago during the summer months of 1927 and has collected numbers of memories, according to Amy Higgins, communications and marketing director for Elyria Schools.

"It had lived it’s life, but as you look further south down onto the new field, it’s exciting."

— Sean Lowstetter, of Elyria

Guests who watched features of the stadium come down, shared fond memories and excitement during the demolition.

A new field and multisports complex will replace the old stadium.

Laura Hall Chapin, Elyria High’s Class of 1991, was in the Elyria marching band drum line. Chapin said her daughter Jess Norris, class of 2010, was in the drum line. Chapin’s son Garrett Chapin, class of 2020, is in the drum line. Chapin said she loved being in the band and representing Elyria High.

She said it’s a joy watching her children carry on the marching band tradition

and hearing the same cadences she once played.

Sean Lowstetter, of Elyria, sat in his car with his girlfriend, Erin Gawlik, as crews pushed the press box down with an excavator machine.

Lowstetter graduated from Elyria High in 1988.

He said he played football his freshman year, but spent most of his high school career playing hockey, golf and track.

Lowstetter also shared memories of cheering on the High School football team every Friday night with friends.

He said watching the majority of his childhood being demolished is sad to see.

Gawlik said she went to school in Oberlin and never had a similar experience in her previous school district.

She said it was sad to

watch, but added that change is good.

Lowstetter said he wished the district would have offered tours one last time or sell portions of the benches because he knew his friend wanted some.

He said it is nice the residents are allowed to have bricks as memorabilia.

Lowstetter said a new stadium and field was needed because the original stadium was outdated.

“The locker room facilities were even outdated when I played in ‘88,” he said. “It had lived it’s life, but as you look further south down onto the new field, it’s exciting.

“It’s exciting for my son. It’s exciting for the younger generation of Elyria. The kids need it.”

Lowstetter’s son, Hayden Lostetter, 17, who plays

baseball, is entering his senior year at Elyria High.

Lowstetter said Hayden is considering playing football

to create new memories on a new field.

BRIANA CONTRERAS — THE MORNING JOURNAL The demolition of a 91-year-old grandstand at the original Ely Stadium in Elyria began July 11, with the press box to take the first tumble down. This demolition makes room for a next phase of the new Elyria City Schools multi-sports complex.

BRIANA CONTRERAS — THE MORNING JOURNAL The demolition of the 91-year-old grandstand at the original Ely Stadium in Elyria began July 11, with the press box to take the first tumble down.