Demolition of Fredericton Raceway grandstand underway, NBEX future still unclear

A Fredericton grandstand is coming down.

Demolition of the Fredericton Raceways’s 57-year-old grandstand is underway, while the New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition (NBEX) ground’s future still unclear.

The City of Fredericton ordered the steel and wooden grandstand structure to come down in September – a few weeks before city councilors voted to expropriate the 30-acre NBEX property for housing and a new school.

The grounds were originally gifted to the city from the O’Dell family for the purposes of holding an annual agricultural festival.

Legal wranglings on the expropriation issue are ongoing.

“We have lawyers on both sides of the organization working together,” said Rae Tretiak, executive director of the NBEX. “As far as I am aware, both sides are (making) no comment with the media at this time.”

The City of Fredericton had no new comment this week on the expropriation issue, nor the grandstand demolition.

Regarding the grandstand, the city’s demolition order cited safety concerns about the structure, which were initially contested by the NBEX.

“We did contest it just to get some further clarification into the manner,” said Tretiak.

NBEX board members ultimately approved the hiring of contractors to complete the demolition work, which began last week.

“It is taking up space on the ground that is fairly valuable, and we can use it for other reasons during some of our larger outdoor events,” said Tretiak. “It would open up some space for logistic things. Couple that with the city’s look to tear it down… we said it was probably time to do it.”

The grandstand has been closed to the public for close to a decade, with the track decommissioned for official horse races nearly as long. Horses still reside in barns by the racetrack and can often be seen running the track daily for exercise with their riders.

The grandstand’s demolition is expected to take three months to complete and could cost as much as $400,000.

“It’s coming down piece by piece,” said Tretiak. “It’s a big job.

“It’s part of our history, and it’s part of the city’s history as well. The Queen of England saw her very first horse race here on these grandstands, the ones they’re tearing down right now. There’s historical relevance to them.”

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