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MAKING OVER FAIR GROUNDS PLANT Old City Park Stand to Be in Place Octohcr 5 All Manner of Improvements Under Way NEW ORLEANS La August 14 Rapid strides a are being made by the Business Mens Racing Asso ¬ c ciation in making the Fair Grounds a brand new p plant Half of the City Park race track grand ¬ s stand has been removed to its new home 3500 car ¬ 1 loads of selected river sand has been hauled from 4 the old City Park race track to the Fair Grounds 3 3500 carloads of cinders have been spread upon uponads r ads ditches have been dug drainage pipes put in ° old barns torn down and contracts have been let f for all manner of improvements improvementsGround Ground was broken the other day upon the foun ¬ dation 1 for the City Park grandstand half of which the woodwork already is stacked beside the site ° of the old Fair Grounds stand which was destroyed by fire awaiting to be put in place It was found impracticable to erect the stand on the backstrctch backstrctchThe The contract for the removal of the City Park s stand provides It to be in Its new place by Oc tober 5 This the board of directors of the Busi ¬ r ness Mens Racing Association believes will give a ample time for the vast improvements which are l o be made inside the new structure structureAn An inspection of the City Park grandstand since Is being taken down divulges the fact that its lumber was almost in perfect condition Con ¬ tractors estimate there Is 150000 worth of lum ¬ ber in the stand In fact when Curley Brown Brownireatencd ireatencd to reopen City Park and started in inl6 1 l6 to fix up the plant it was pronounced then thenmt l mt the stand was In perfect condition conditionAs As the City Park stand will be put up in the s same spot as the original Fair Grounds stand the famous quartermile straightaway In the stretch J will come back into ltsown At first last winter was believed the shortening of the stretch would T work to advantage because it would eliminate c crowding at the first turn in mile races However it was discovered there was as much crowding a as ever and many times the best horse was beaten J because after being straightened out in the drive for home he did not have time to catch the leaders leadersOn On the site now occupied by the temporary stand which was constructed In three days last nintcr will be built a long openair stand which will he known as sun bleachers This is sure to prove a popular spot on sunshiny days daysGRANDSTAND GRANDSTAND SEATING CAPACITY 8000 8000Then Then when the City Park stand is up five tiers of seats will be built into its too expansive prome ¬ nade at the top and this will increase the seating capacity of the stand to 8000 it is estimated Tlie clubhouse will be built inside the new stand standThe The flooring of the palm garden as the betting j mil is styled will be of wood as it was j last year This wood flooring will be one of the many moves which the Business Mens Racing Association will make to fight chills colds and influenza i if the lastnamed disease attempts to stage a comeback this year yearThe The stand will be raised considerably higher than Jt was at City Park and the lawn in front will be terraced down to the rail so a view of the races can e obtained from any spot spotCity City Parks old paddock will be moved over and transformed into an immense barn which will occupy a conspicuous position near tha Gcntilly lyenue gate Half ft A ° Sn ° ler hacns will be n the course of construction within a fewdays and the roof of every barn on the track is being ripped off Several new roofs have been put on onA A force of 200 men is at work daily at City Park and the Fair Grounds Digging ditches mak ¬ ing roads and putting in drainage keeps this force busy The infield is being leveled off and three dead trees have been cut down It is intended to make a big flower garden in the infield directly opposite the grandstand Shell roads aud walks will run ail through the infield infieldNEW NEW DRAINAGE SYSTEM INSTALLED The track proper has been dug out all about that section on the backstretch where the bad spots were last year and hew sand put on Tlie Vast improvement in drainage It is said already has eliminated the possibility of water standing on the track anywhere The track will be built up much higher than it ever has been and will be graded and cared for by an expert track man manAn An umbrella rail will be put up on the insiile This rail slants in toward the center of the track from its base and will prevent horses striking their legs on the posts as they run by close to the rail According to manager R S Eddy the Business Mens Racing Association will show an entirely dif ¬ ferent looking plant when the 1920 season is ush ¬ ered in January 1 Manager Eddy and president B C McCielian will leave In a week or two for Saratoga where they expect to convince the higher class of horsemen that there is a new race course in New Orleans and a plant which will rank with the best in the country countryTransportation Transportation facilities will be 100 per cent bet ¬ ter than they ever have been Manager Eddy says He has taken up with General Manager lileecker of the railways company the problem of better street car service to and from the Fair Grounds and Mr Bleecker has assured him of full cooperation cooperationR R S Eddy has resigned from the board of direc ¬ tors to become manager and Louis N Lang who was the power behind the force which put up the temporary stand at the Fair Grounds in three days last year has been chosen to take Eddys place
