MADISON — On Thursday, Hoar Construction, the City of Madison and BallCorps, LLC announced that Toyota Field, the new home for the Rocket City Trash Pandas, was officially awarded its Certificate of Occupancy, marking the official end of construction of the ballpark and certifying that the facility conforms to local building code requirements.
Hoar Construction, the general contractor on the project, broke ground on the new stadium in November 2018, and have since completed the project on time and within budget according to a release issued by the Trash Pandas.
The Rocket City Trash Pandas, owned by BallCorps, LLC., will serve as the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.
Even though the Trash Pandas will not play their inaugural home game against the Mississippi Braves until April 15, the park will see action before then. The University of Alabama-Huntsville and the University of Montevallo will face off in a three-game series that begins on March 20 and ends with a double-header on March 21 in Gulf South Conference play.
Ralph Nelson, managing partner of BallCorps, LLC and CEO of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, applauded Birmingham-based Hoar Construction.
“This is a landmark moment that was made possible through the remarkable commitment and creativity displayed by all of the design and construction professionals who turned our vision into reality,” Nelson said in a statement. “Hoar Construction has been a trusted partner throughout this journey, and we’re pleased to have reached a successful conclusion together. Our fans can now see for themselves that baseball is officially back in North Alabama.”
“The day our team has been waiting for has finally arrived, and it’s extremely gratifying to see the transformation from a dirt field to a top-shelf ballpark in just 14 months,” said Michael Raymond, Assistant Project Manager at Hoar Construction. “BallCorps and the City of Madison have been fantastic to work with and provided the flexibility Hoar and its trade partners needed to successfully execute a very complex construction job. Without question, this is now one of the finest minor league ballparks in America.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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