| SLP company is restoring pieces of sports history |
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| Wednesday, 06 May 2009 | ||
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Life Editor A Spring Lake Park company is refinishing important pieces of downtown Minneapolis sports history that will be installed inside the Minnesota Twins’ new stadium downtown. Jerry’s Floor Store, 1550 County Highway 10, was awarded a contract to install the maple basketball court that was torn up from the old Minneapolis Armory.
James Iverson and George Iverson with Jerry’s Floor Store are working on the high-profile project. The company has eight boxes of court sections carefully hidden away. Two of the eight boxes have been through the refinishing process, said James Iverson. All of the cut pieces need to have tar removed from the back side. George Iverson said the maple is 70 to 80 years old. It will be installed in the restaurant in a parquet pattern similar to the Boston Garden’s historic surface. “We would not have been able to work with the material if asbestos had been used,” he said. “The maple floor pieces are put together tongue and groove.” More than a year ago, M.A. Mortensen Construction Co., the main contractor on the Target Field project, awarded Jerry’s the subcontract for the entire wood flooring installation. The majority of the stadium wood is manufactured, but the reclaimed Armory wood was donated to the Twins before a subcontractor was picked, James said. The Minneapolis Armory was used by the Lakers as a part-time home between 1947-59 and as the team’s primary home court during the 1959–60 NBA season. Built in 1935, the Armory was widely considered the most important building that was constructed in the Twin Cities during the Great Depression years. From the late 1930s through 1970s the Armory was used as a civic event venue, including trade shows, political conventions, concerts and sporting events. After World War II, the building was the site for the Golden Gloves boxing tournament, professional wrestling and many Lakers’ professional basketball games. In April 1989, when Minneapolis relinquished right of first refusal for the land, Hennepin County purchased the Armory for $4.7 million for a new jail site. In January 1993, the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned a district court decision, ruling the Armory couldn’t be razed because of its historical status. According to a Hennepin County public affairs fact sheet, in November 1998, the county board agreed to sell the Armory to a developer for $2.6 million. A private company, Armory Development II LLC, in turn, invested $2.9 million to convert the empty downtown building for use as a parking structure. According to James Iverson, the old Lakers basketball flooring was removed by jail inmates and stored in Plymouth inside a county correctional building. “We are currently in the process of cleaning and removing the tar that was used to originally install it to get it ready for installation later this fall,” he said. In addition to the historic woodwork, next spring, Iverson said Jerry’s Floor Store will start installing flooring in the luxury suites inside Target Field. “This is probably the highest profile project we have worked on,” he said. “We’ve also done multi-million dollar fitness centers projects all over the country.” Kevin Smith is executive director of public affairs with the Minnesota Twins. He said the Town Ball Tavern will be open to the public and ballpark patrons. “It will be located in the left field area,” Smith said. “If you come to the park via light rail, it will be on Fifth Street side. It will be a nice, quaint gathering spot.” The Twins want the Town Ball Tavern to serve as a tribute to Minnesota’s rich baseball heritage, Smith said. It will be filled with plenty of memorabilia items. “The old Armory floor is an important part of Minnesota’s sports history. When that unique item became available, we said, ‘Why not use it?’” he said. According to Smith, it’s been critical for the Twins organization to include as many local contractors and subcontractors as possible in the stadium work. “This project is personal for everyone who works on it. We live in the community,” he said. “Many people have a piece in the construction of Target Field.” Champion’s Club, Twins Pub, 573 Bar, Metropolitan Club and the Puckett and Carew Atriums will provide other dining opportunities inside the new ballpark. “We are right on schedule and are about 70 percent complete with the building,” Smith said. “Target Field has to be functionally complete on March 3, 2010.” Tim Hennagir is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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