A lazy pop-fly secured the Wichita Wingnuts’ 4-1 victory Monday at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. The ball arched into the overcast sky before settling into second baseman Logan Watkins’s glove, but the future of professional baseball in Wichita remains up in the air.
The Labor Day game marked more than the end of the Wingnuts’ season. It was the final baseball game in Lawrence Dumont’s 84-year history.
In May, the City of Wichita informed the Wingnuts that the 2018 season would be their last at Lawrence Dumont — the sixth oldest operating ballpark in the U.S. With Mayor Jeff Longwell publicly calling for a new stadium and an MLB-affiliated team — the Wingnuts are in the independent American Association — historic Lawrence Dumont will likely face demolition in the near future.