Thanks to Pace Automotive, Minnesota Locks, and Dakota County for their support.
A roughly 40-year history comes to an end with the removal of horseshoe pits from the West St. Paul Sports Complex. The city recently completed work to remove the horseshoe pits and fencing from the covered pavilion, opening the space up for other uses.
Why: “During the development of the city’s new parks system plan, we heard a strong desire for more events, programs, and festivals,” said West St. Paul Parks Director Eric Weiss. “With limited land and resources, we have only so many places to host events. Transitioning the horseshoe pavilion presented us a relatively lower cost option to meet that community need.”
West St. Paul Horseshoe Club
The decision was a “very bitter pill to swallow” for the West St. Paul Horseshoe Club.
“The club has dissolved and that’s the end to a 46-year history of horseshoe pitching in West St. Paul,” said a senior member of the club who preferred to remain anonymous. “Some of the pitchers moved to other clubs while others quit pitching altogether, which is very sad.”
In its heyday, the club had over 100 members pitching four nights a week. They hosted major tournaments every summer, drawing pitchers from North Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
Lately the club has shrunk to 24 members and only three are West St. Paul residents, according to Weiss.
“While change is difficult, many were not surprised given the untapped potential of the pavilion,” said Weiss.
Reuse: “Thankfully, we were able to work with the club, and they were able to reuse almost all of the horseshoe equipment and supplies at other locations,” Weiss said. “We’re glad to keep that out of our landfills.”
History: Voters approved the Sports Complex, including the horseshoe pavilion, in 1984, with the park opening by 1987. Here’s a video from 2017 showing the West St. Paul Horseshoe Club in action.
What’s Next
Reworking the Sports Complex Pavilion is just beginning. The city is also improving drainage and updating the electrical so it’s better equipped to host events. Work is pausing for now with the Explore West St. Paul Days events coming up when the pavilion will get plenty of use.
Future improvements could include the area around the pavilion: “We think the pavilion can a great spot for things like family reunions, cultural events, markets, music in the park, etc.,” said Weiss. “Other improvements could include bringing back horseshoe pits (just not covered), adding bocce courts, creating a picnic plaza area, more trees. We want to hear from the community what they’d like to see.”
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