HOME BASE MAKEOVER. Downtown Eau Claire's Carson Park baseball stadium will see demolition and construction efforts this fall, making way for new bleacher and ADA-compliant seating along the first baseline, among other upgrades. (Submitted rendering)

After nearly a decade of planning and fundraising efforts, Carson Park’s historic baseball stadium will begin its multi-phase renovation project later this month.

The $1.3 million construction contract for phase one was approved by Eau Claire City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 11, kicking off what will be a years-long facilities facelift. 

Home to the championship-bound Eau Claire Express baseball team (the team made the playoffs for the first time in seven years, this season!), at least $400,000 in community donations and over $1.6 million from the City of Eau Claire have been allocated toward the renovation project.

As described by Patrick Newkirk, City recreation and facilities manager, phase one of the project will result in new bathroom and retail areas, a concrete walkway connecting the first base entrance to the right-field fan deck area (replacing what is currently a mostly gravel path), and new ADA-compliant seats and bleachers along the first baseline.

All of those upgrades – except seating – will be ready for the spring baseball season next year. 

That seating delay is due to a 10-12 month lead time on materials, Newkirk said. The new seating will include front-row ADA spots and 408 chair-backed seats – in addition to the bleachers – and be ready for use by the 2028 season.

The new concrete walkway, pictured, will improve accessibility to the fan deck for all patrons. New and ADA-compliant seating (as well as a ramp, pictured) will be installed along the first baseline. (Submitted rendering)

The new, fully heated bathrooms facility, pictured, will be finished for the start of the 2027 spring season. (Submitted rendering)

Craig Toycen, owner and managing director of the Express, said the new first-base bleachers will be aluminum, matching the new dugouts’ design. (In 2025, the Express also paid for the stadium's new video scoreboard, replacing the circa-2007 board.)

All of the seating slated for the renovation project's first phase was made possible through private donations to the Carson Park Baseball Stadium Renovation fund, stewarded by the Eau Claire Community Foundation.

In return for donating $500 or more toward that renovation fund, individuals can have their name, or a name of a loved one, put on one of the chair-back seats. A limited number of seats are left for that naming opportunity, Newkirk said.

“(This project is) a great step forward for everyone who uses Carson Park,” Toycen said, also noting the facility's use by NCAA and high school athletes.

Another renovation project  for the third baseline area at the baseball stadium will occur “down the road,” Toycen added.

Make a donation to or learn more about the Carson Park Baseball Stadium Renovation Fund online at eccf.fcsuite.com. Keep up with the Eau Claire Express baseball team on social media (@ecexpress).