Demolition Begins At Cooper Stadium

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Demolition work is underway at the old Cooper Stadium site on the southwest side of Columbus. Workers are expected to preserve the grandstand, but knock down other parts of the stadium to make way for construction of a new race track and automotive research center.

The Columbus Clippers played their last baseball game at Cooper Stadium in September 2008 before moving into the team's current facility, Huntington Park, in the city's Arena District.

After years of planning and debate, the developer of the Cooper Stadium site, ARSHOT, is moving forward with plans for the race track, research center and sports pavilion.

SIDESHOW: Images OfDemolition

At the Olde Tyme Barber Shop in the nearby Central Point Shopping Center, barber Ed Markson says residents could use something to breath new life into the neighborhood. "That'll be really, really nice and will put a lot of people through this are to work," Markson said. "Even the shopping center here will build back up a little bit. We went through a lot of hard times here."

West side resident Bertie Crockett and her daughter in law Deanna Sheets are excited as race fans but also see the chance for some positive fallout for the local economy. "It'd be nice to we Central Point come back - I think it would be great for the economy," Sheets said.

The new facility is expected to support about 300 new jobs. Construction is slated to begin later in 2014.

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Demolition Begins At Cooper Stadium