'It's like attending a funeral': Calgary Cannons owner, former GM, among those mourning Foothills Stadium

They say there's no crying in baseball, but the demolition of a decades-old Calgary ballpark just might make fans shed a tear.

The city is in the process of tearing down Foothills Stadium as part of its plan to revitalize Foothills Athletic Park.

The stadium was once home to the AAA baseball team the Calgary Cannons, who played in the city from 1985-2002.

 Team owner Russ Parker said that although he knew the stadium was coming down to make way for a new development, now that the demolition has officially begun, it's affected him emotionally.

"It's been a tough few days. It has," he said.

"It's like attending a funeral. You don't want to be there, but [you have to] pay it respect," he said.

Parker, affectionately called "Mr. Baseball" in Calgary according to his profile in the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, reminisced about the Cannons' heyday in the 80s and 90s. He and his wife, Diane, were a major part of the franchise.

He remembers the time it snowed so much in Calgary that the Cannons couldn't play games for days.

He remembers when so many fans showed up to Foothills Stadium that they had to stand at the edges of the outfield behind a rope because there weren't enough seats.

He remembers his team doing a marvellous job of creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere at the stadium for all Calgarians to enjoy a baseball game.

"You know, you'd see people leaving the stadium, and they were happy. They enjoyed it, even even if it wasn't a win," the hall-of-famer said.

Joe McFarland, co-founder and host of baseball podcast Alberta Dugout Stories, said it's not surprising that Foothills Stadium is being torn down because the ballpark has been in a state of disrepair for years.

"It's sad, but at the same time, you kind of expected it, right?" he said. "It's been left to ruin for quite a while."

The Cannons moved to New Mexico following the 2002 season to become the Albuquerque Isotopes.