Vast abandoned stadium left to rot for 14 years turned into plush apartments…you could have an iconic field as a garden
A FORMER baseball stadium has become the idyllic home for hundreds of residents who now enjoy it’s iconic field as their garden.
The Bush Stadium in Indianapolis was once a stunning complex that hosted some of the city’s many sports teams.
YouTubeThe former baseball ground became derelict and unused, with maintenance all but gone[/caption]
YouTubeIt became abandoned in 1996 after the Indianapolis Indians moved home[/caption]
Core RedevelopmentThe former Bush Stadium has been converted into 138 apartments[/caption]
But 65 years after its construction in 1931, it was left rotting and abandoned by 1996 as the Indianapolis Indians baseball team moved home.
The property closed and the stadium fell into disrepair, with no apparent future, and years of decay ensued.
The stadium’s exterior had become incredibly run down, where offices and hospitality suites turned into dark and lifeless unused rooms.
The main entrance consisted of boarded up windows and doors, with rotting walls making for a sorry state of affairs.
The once plush stadium had sadly turned into a sporting graveyard.
As for the inside, the baseball pitch became very quickly overgrown and devoid of any maintenance or attention.
The grass turned yellow in some areas, while bushes and shrubbery sprouted in front of one of the main stands.
The 14,500-seater stadium was eventually leased and converted for dirt track midget racing – until the project was abandoned after just two years.
It was then turned into a storage site for cars traded in as part of the Cash for Clunkers program between 2008 and 2011.
However, following a $13million (£10.4million) renovation, “Stadium Lofts” opened in 2013 and contained 138 loft apartments.
Although the dirt portion of the infield was paved with stamped red concrete, the developers retained a lot of the original infrastructure.
The owner’s suite, ticket booth, much of the facade and the field’s lights were incorporated – ensuring it still resembled a baseball stadium.
Residents can still enjoy the view of what was once the field and the re-use of the original curved structure resembles that of the former stands.
It isn’t the only former stadium to have been turned into flats once its tenants have moved elsewhere.
The iconic Boleyn Ground, the former home of Premier League side West Ham United, has been bulldozed to make way for 842 new homes.
YouTubeThe grass on the field became dense and overgrown, with bushes forming in front of one of the stands[/caption]
Core RedevelopmentThe renovation took place in 2013 and cost $13million (£10.4million)[/caption]
Core RedevelopmentThe apartments look out over the former baseball field after developers retained a lot of the original infrastructure[/caption]
