Preliminary assessments done on Zupo Field

LODI — A week and a half after a historic baseball stadium was destroyed by fire, city officials are still trying to formulate a game plan moving forward.

“It’s probably going to take a couple weeks to get more information (about what to do next),” Lodi Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Jeff Hood said. “We’re still testing the damaged structure. We have to treat it differently than normal demolition work because lead paint is present.”

Hood said the metal shade panels that protected spectators at Tony Zupo Field have been removed from the 95year-old site.

However, he said a demolition permit still has to be approved by both the city and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District before doing any heavy work on the site.

Insurance inspectors from both the Lodi Fire Department and a private company contracted by the city examined the site last week, but actual cost estimates for rebuilding are still unknown, Hood said.

“We’ll likely have a special meeting with the city council later this month to discuss the field and get direction from them as to what we want to do next,” he said.

Firefighters were called to Zupo Field, located at 350 Washington St., just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 23. Upon arrival, they found the main grandstands, the press box and office engulfed in flames. The blaze was under control by 6 p.m.

The fire department said the area of origin was determined to be somewhere behind the Zupo Field sign that greets guests as they enter the stadium, and closer to the first base side of the grandstands and office.

A cause has still not been determined.

Last week, Hood said any replacement structures will most likely not be made of wood, and that the city hopes to have the stadium rebuilt by the coming spring.

Because the city must now make the new structure compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is unknown exactly how long the design and construction phases will take, he said.

Built in 1924, the stadium was originally known as Lawrence Park. It has been home to a number of minor league baseball teams between 1966 and 1985, including the Lodi Crushers and Lodi Dodgers.

The team was affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, as well as two Nippon Pro Baseball League teams from Japan.

The stadium was also home to semi-professional baseball teams dating back to the 1940s, all of which were managed by Tony Zupo until his death in the mid-1980s.

Following his death, the city renamed the stadium in his honor.