WAHOO, Neb. — Those attending future games at Sam Crawford Field here will get to touch a little piece of baseball history.
Last week, workers for the Wahoo Parks and Recreation Department went to Omaha to bring back 95 seats that used to fill the rows of Rosenblatt Stadium.
Wahoo Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Stuhr said the seats, which had been behind the first base line at Rosenblatt, will be installed in the grandstand, on either side of the press box, at Wahoo's ballpark.
Stuhr said the addition of the Rosenblatt seats deepens the field's connection to baseball history, given that it's named for Wahoo's own major-leaguer, Sam Crawford.
He said the seats also provide his department with a cost-effective way to upgrade the community's facility.
Installation of the seats is one of several improvements planned for the ballpark. Stuhr said crews will also be removing all the metal planks that presently serve as seats.
"They're in bad shape, and so it's a safety concern," he said.
Those planks will not be replaced. Instead, fans will be able to stretch out on the grandstand's concrete risers.
"We thought that was actually a lot more comfortable," said Wahoo Parks and Recreation Park Superintendent Bob Graves.
Stuhr said obtaining the Rosenblatt seats was a bit of a process. The Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo Foundation, which now owns the stadium, was accepting bids as it liquidates pieces of the building.
"We weren't the high bidder, but the company that won the bid didn't end up taking all the seats," Stuhr said.
The foundation then invited the other bidders to purchase the seats for the same price that the winning bidder submitted.
"And that was only $25 a seat," Stuhr said. "Those same seats can cost between $150 to $200 brand new."
In mid-September, Stuhr was informed that Wahoo would be permitted to purchase 95 of the seats.
"We then mobilized quickly to get down there and pick out the seats we wanted," he said.
Workers marked off the seats they wanted and last week went back to Rosenblatt, removed the selected seats and brought them to Sam Crawford Field.
"They came out as easily as we were led to believe they would," Stuhr said. "It went very seamlessly."
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