Hickory Crawdads clean up after weekend fire; No updates to schedule as of Monday
The smell of smoke and burned plastic still surrounded Hickory Crawdads' clubhouse on Monday afternoon.
A fire broke out in the visitors' locker rooms on Saturday morning, causing heavy damage, according to a previous statement from the Hickory Fire Department.
On Monday at L.P. Frans Stadium, a large, lime green Servpro truck filled with damaged furniture sat outside the clubhouse. A burned couch and a pile of charred baseballs and bats lay on the sidewalk near an open door to the visitors' locker room.
The Hickory Crawdads are still assessing the damage. The first goal is to restore power and water to the home locker rooms, Hickory Crawdads General Manager Douglas Locascio said. He said the team hopes to have the power and water restored this week.
The Crawdads are also trying to find alternative options for locker rooms for visiting teams, Locascio said.
Locascio said the damage was contained to the visitors' side of the clubhouse. The home side mostly needed cleaning from the soot left over from the smoke.
The fire was caused by an electrical issue, according to the Hickory Fire Department.
The cost of repairing the damage was unknown on Monday. Locascio said it is unknown how long it will take to repair the locker rooms.
The fire canceled games on Saturday and Sunday. As of Monday, there are no other changes to the game schedule, Locascio said. If any additional games are canceled, the Hickory Crawdads will put out an announcement.
"We're just taking it one day at a time," Locascio said. "Working closely with Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, the Texas Rangers and the Carolina League and monitoring it daily to put forth the best effort."
The Hickory Crawdads are an affiliate team of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers purchased the Crawdads in 2017. The team was sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings in 2023 but remains an affiliate of the Rangers.
L.P. Frans Stadium is located at 2500 Clement Blvd. NW in Hickory.
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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 5:49 AM.