90 years ago (1934): Wichita has plans for its new baseball stadium

90 years ago (1934), Wichita revealed public plans for a new baseball stadium downtown.

There were plans for a new athletic field to be built on land west of the Arkansas River that was known as Payne's pasture, near Maple & Sycamore.

The cost for the new stadium ended up around $125,000, split between the city of Wichita, and federal New Deal money from the Civil Works Administration.

Plans called for a stadium with concrete stands with 23 rows of wooden seats, and a total seating capacity in excess of 6,400 patrons. Temporary stands could be added along the east side of the stadium.

The plans called for an eight-foot-high fence in the outfield, with distances of 336 feet to the left field foul line, 320 feet to the right field foul line, and 360 feet to center field.

[Once it was built, the actual dimensions were 344 feet to LF; 401 feet in CF; and 312 feet to RF, and Lawrence Stadium served as Wichita's baseball venue for more than 80 years.]