City of Palms Stadium, which has been closed since 2012, may soon come down for good. Fort Myers city leaders say they are ready to move forward with a full demolition after a new engineering report found keeping any part of the stadium would be costly and limit future redevelopment plans.
For years, residents have shared their opinions about the stadium’s future. Many have called it a waste of space and money, while others have suggested repurposing it for community use.
“It’s ridiculous — it’s wasted space,” one resident said.
“I wish they could repurpose it for something,” another added.
“Tear it down,” said a third.
Even with no games or events, taxpayers have continued footing the bill for maintenance and security.
“It’s just wasting, and they’re wasting taxpayer money,” one resident said.
On Monday, city leaders reviewed an engineering report that assessed whether partial demolition of the stadium would be feasible. The report found that keeping any portion of the building would be expensive, require significant reconstruction, and reduce the space available for future development.
That led council members to one decision: complete demolition.
“I think we should move forward with the complete demolition, with the attempt to salvage whatever we can that’s historical to be consolidated into the new project,” said Mayor Kevin Anderson
While the stadium will come down, the city plans to salvage pieces of the structure — including plaques, lettering, and brickwork — to preserve some of the stadium’s history.
“The city manager has pointed out some lettering that he thought would be great. There is some stuff inside that could still be salvaged,” the city engineer said.
The next steps include gathering demolition proposals and holding a final vote. Mayor Anderson said he hopes to have the work completed by the end of the year.