Renovation won’t destroy ballpark’s charm

SAN JOSE GIANTS’ PROMISE

Baseball fans watch the Oakland Ballers take on the San Jose Giants during the “Battle of the Bay 2.0” at Excite Ballpark in San Jose on April 2. The Giants organization has committed to spend $20 million for renovations to the ballpark. NHAT V. MEYER — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Paul Cerda, a longtime fixture at Excite Ballpark in San Jose, sells churros in the stands during the San Jose Giants’ home opener against Visalia on Tuesday. PHOTO BY SAL PIZARRO

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When I heard about the San Jose Giants’ plan to invest $20 million in improvements in Excite Ballpark, I silently prayed the resulting operation on the 83-year-old stadium wouldn’t turn out to be a “charmectomy.”

That’s a term I learned from a real estate buddy, David Lindsay, to describe a homeowners misguided attempt to improve and modernize an older home — usually to sell it — that winds up removing all the quirky details and imperfections that made it charming to begin with.

But newly promoted San Jose Giants President Ben Taylor assured me at Tuesday’s home opener — an 11-3 Giants victory over Visalia — that the plans wouldn’t disturb those essential elements that have made the stadium a fan favorite for decades.

“Churros, Turkey Mike’s and Americana aren’t going anywhere,” he said.

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine Excite Ballpark — still nostalgically known as Municipal Stadium to many — without Paul Cerda wearing his cowboy hat and selling churros, grabbing a pre-game meal at Turkey Mike’s BBQ, watching kids race mascot Gigante down the baselines or people carrying wooden horse heads on sticks race behind the outfield wall. Don’t even get me started on the Beer Batter.

The team’s parent company — Diamond Baseball Holdings’ San Jose affiliate — has necessary plans to bring the stadium up to Minor League Baseball standards, and that came along with an agreement to stay at the ballpark through 2050. That includes building a 17,900 square-foot building for new clubhouses, offices and training rooms that will take shape well beyond the left-field wall. The field and dugouts will also get a makeover, and the third-base VIP area will soon get a permanent shade structure.

There’s already been a noticeable change in the fan experience. The netting that used to protect fans in the stands behind home plate now stretches to cover the entire seating area. And poles that used to hold up the old mesh have been removed, giving fans an unobstructed view of the whole field. (The four aluminum poles unexpectedly took five days to remove, Taylor said, after workers discovered they were filled with concrete.)

Of course, these are far from the first changes to the park, which has been home to the San Francisco Giants’ Single-A team since 1988. Bleachers have been removed and replaced with VIP seating areas, a video scoreboard was installed and the old Marlboro Man ad in center field — a popular home run target — was torn down years ago.

But none of that took away the charm, and it doesn’t seem like this will, either.

CLASSIC CAR SHOWCASE >> Mike Hennessy, our favorite car guy, is bringing back an old San Jose tradition with the American Veterans Autorama, which will fill the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Expo Hall with classic cars today and Saturday.

The original San Jose Autorama was a car show that started in 1952 and ran for more than three decades. Hennessy says people have been bringing in memorabilia from those shows that will be on display during this weekend’s event.

The public can check out the cars from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. today or 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds benefit the Military Officers Association of America, the group that now stages San Jose’s Veterans Day parade. Go online to americanveterans2025 autorama.com for tickets and more details.

THEATRICAL GIVEAWAY >> Lyric Theatre’s current real-life drama has had as many twists and turns as one of the light operas the San Jose theater company is known for. Its bid to raise $200,000 at the start of this year came up short, so it won’t be producing the San Jose Light Opera Festival. But enough money was donated for Lyric to put on a “Best of Gilbert & Sullivan” revue in August at the Saratoga Civic Theater.

And there are plans churning for more shows to follow. But first, Lyric is working on cutting expenses and that includes closing down its San Jose shop this month and will partner with other companies to host them or build sets as needed.

This weekend, fans are encouraged to come by the warehouse/office at 1609 Regatta Lane to help empty the place. There are costumes and sewing books to give away, as well as Lyric memorabilia, office furniture and books on Gilbert & Sullivan and the Victorian period. The open house takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and Lyric volunteers will be there to share some of their future plans.

SPRING FORWARD >> It should be a busy weekend at History Park in San Jose, which is hosting its Spring Eggstravaganza, with four egg hunts for kids between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday. And then Sunday, the park will be filled with not eggs but Beetles — the VW kind — as the Golden Gate Chapter of the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America hosts its 40th annual Spring Meet.

GENERATION JAZZ >> There’s an interesting collaboration brewing Sunday at City Lights Theatre Company for “An Afternoon of Modern Jazz,” which features Gus Kambeitz’s big band ensemble Nineteen and the San Jose Youth Symphony Jazz Ensemble, led by trumpeter Ricky Martinez. The 4 p.m. concert will include music by pianist Stan Kenton, trumpeter/drummer Don Ellis and Radiohead’s experimental song, “Everything in Its Right Place.” Go to cltc.org/an-afternoon-of-modern-jazz for tickets.

Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@bayareanewsgroup.com.