Renée White laughed and jumped for joy Tuesday evening when she lay eyes on Asheville’s newly-refurbished Memorial Stadium for the first time.
“This is worth all the blood, sweat and tears!” White, president of the East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association, said as she surveyed the scene. “It’s beautiful up here. And I lived in Mountainside Apartments; they were right over there, so this is dear to my heart. This is absolutely wonderful.”
The event that brought White and dozens of others to the venue was a ribbon-cutting marking the completion of a major, $6.7 million renovation of the stadium on the side of Beaucatcher Mountain.
The recreational park, built nearly 100 years ago, honors local veterans. It now includes newly-replaced artificial turf, improved drainage, energy-efficient lighting, an accessible restroom facility – and a six-lane walking and running track that members of the East End/Valley Street community, one of Asheville’s oldest historically Black neighborhoods, had lobbied to rebuild for years.
The track almost didn’t happen. And the story of its inclusion is one that touches on many of the issues facing a growing Asheville, including the need to balance tourism with the interests of local residents.
‘A reparations issue’
The original stadium, which opened to the public in 1927, featured a football field as well as a running track made from small cinders. It was later upgraded to a synthetic surface and was popular among residents of the East End/Valley Street and Oakhurst communities until the mid-2000s, when it was removed during a resurfacing of the field.
The stadium gradually slipped into a state of disrepair over the next two decades. At the same time, urban renewal led to the destruction of much of the surrounding neighborhood and the displacement of many longtime residents.
In 2016, Asheville voters approved a $74 million General Obligation bond referendum, including $17 million for parks, paving the way for the renovation of many city facilities, including Memorial Stadium. Neighborhood residents had long been fighting for the track to be brought back, and it seemed like the bond package might be the first step toward that happening.
Meanwhile, the Asheville City Soccer Club, a pre-professional team, began to garner large crowds for its games at Memorial Stadium. The club hoped to make the stadium its long-term home — with the potential to bring even greater crowds and tourism to Asheville — and the renovation became a hotly-debated issue.
Through the use of some of the bond funds, the turf was replaced in 2022 — but without the community’s long-sought track, which would have reduced the size of the field. The inclusion of the track would have left the field within FIFA regulations but too small to host national soccer league competitions.
Local residents said they were blindsided and dismayed by the move. White and others made their voices heard, and in the end, City Council voted in March 2022 to include the six-lane track after all. The turf was taken up once again, and construction began anew, fueled in part by the General Obligation bond as well as by American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The soccer club, in turn, made its new home at UNC-Asheville’s Greenwood Field.
Jon W., who has lived next to Memorial Stadium for five years and asked that his last name not be used due to the contentious nature of the debate, said he is close with people on both sides of the issue. Having to change locations was “frustrating” for the soccer team, he said, but ultimately, it was important for Asheville to do right by the residents of the historically Black community.
“I view it, for the most part, as a reparations issue, putting the track in for the neighborhood,” he said in an interview Monday. “Because otherwise, you couldn’t really justify redoing it, you know?”
Nevada McCoy, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 45 years, said her children and grandchildren used to play at the stadium and neighboring Mountainside Park. She said she is hopeful the track and all of the venue’s facilities will see more use again now that they’ve been redone.
“Oh, it’s been a long time,” McCoy said Tuesday. “First they did the track wrong; they had to redo the track. Now the track’s fixed nice. So, I’m going to have to start back walking it. It took a long time, but it’s back.”
‘A family-led effort’
Asheville Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley, who grew up in the East End/Valley Street neighborhood, played a pivotal role in making the track a reality and spoke at Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“This is more than a facelift. What we are standing on today is a testament to what happens when a city believes in investing in its people,” she told the crowd of several dozen people who attended the ceremony and a sports fair hosted beforehand by the city.
In an interview with BPR, Mosley said she grew up running on the stadium’s previous track before it was demolished, “so this is a full-circle moment for me.”
“What I will say is, I don’t believe that I in particular did this,” she said. “This was a community-led effort — really, a family-led effort. For those of us who grew up in Asheville and in this area, this is home. So it feels fantastic.”
Mosley also said the main takeaway from the stadium’s renovation is not necessarily about competing interests, “because that puts us in a scarcity mindset.”
“I think the lesson here is to listen to all voices, and come to a decision that is best for the community as a whole,” she said.
Asheville Parks and Recreation Director D. Tyrell McGirt also spoke at the event. He said the renovations underscore the city’s commitment “to provide opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to engage in active-living experiences, fostering both physical and mental well-being.”
“We are committed to listening to our citizens, listening to the needs that they bring forward, investing strategically to create spaces that enrich the lives of all Asheville residents,” he said.
Memorial Stadium and nearby Mountainside Park and Oakhurst Park are open to the public from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
