NORWOOD — For 30 years, the Norwood Indians called Shea Stadium home, even though the 5,000-seat stadium was owned by the city.

        On Thursday, the Norwood Board of Education became the new owners of the Harris Avenue facility, paying the city $1 for it.

        The sale has been talked about since 1996, when Joe Hochbein was elected mayor. Serious negotiations began several months ago, when the school board hired Voorhis, Slone, Welsh & Crossland Architects to do an analysis of the stadium. The board has been managing it since it opened.

        “It's a solid structure. This is a win-win situation for everybody. The stadium is obviously important to the school district. A good stadium is key to attracting families with high-school-age students to the district,” Mr. Hochbein said after the closing.

        “It needs major improvements, and we've gotten to the point where the schools have the resources to fix it. You don't want the mayor and city council deciding what kind of track or lockers a school should have.”

        The city has made patchwork improvements, but nothing like the major renovations that school officials are planning.

        “When it was built, it was first-class,” said Norwood Schools Treasurer Cary Furniss. “There is terrazzo floor, fiberglass bleachers. We know what it's going to take to renovate it.”

        The architects came up with a list of 21 projects that have been divided into four groups by urgency. The first three groups of projects come with a $1.35 million price tag and cover the costs of gutting plumbing, electrical and heating systems.

        Money for those three phases will come from last month's sale of Anthem Medical Insurance stock the board received when the company went public. Construction drawings for the projects should be ready for bid in April with contracts awarded in May and work to begin in June, Mr. Furniss said. The goal is have the stadium ready for the Indians' first home game Sept. 6.

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