DENVER — Many of the Rockies fans attending Friday evening’s game at Coors Field will pass by the McGregor Square project, which is currently under construction.

It used to be known as ‘the West Lot’ and it featured a stunning large-scale art sculpture that greeted fans to every home game. 

The piece is called, ‘The Evolution of the Ball’. It was created by artist Lonnie Hanzon.

“‘The Evolution of the Ball` was actually my first public art sculpture,” Hanzon said.

The $150,000 piece was commissioned by the Major League Baseball Stadium District and debuted the same year Coors Field opened (1995).

“It was meant to be a sculptural gateway to the park,” Hanzon explained.

But the sculpture was moved from its location near Wynkoop Street last year, when work started on McGregor Square. Hanzon was notified about the change in July 2018.

“That it was not fitting in with the development plans,” Hanzon was told. “And then I was offered some other locations, which I was pretty cranky about and did not agree with”.

Initially the piece didn’t appear in the early plans for the McGregor Square project.

“I`ll admit… there`s been a lot of meetings and it got quite contentious with its placement against the development,” Hanzon added.

Fast-forward to today and an updated rendering of McGregor Square currently features the sculpture in its plans.

A spokesperson for the Rockies tells us the art piece will be included in the new site, around the same area where it was.

But Hanzon told us he hasn’t gotten that in writing.

“I will be very, very happy when there are written agreements and that all the parties truly agreed to make all of this happen,” he said.

Hanzon said he’s been told the piece will be re-installed before McGregor Square opens in 2021.

He said the sculpture will have to be expanded and modified a bit, but he’s more than willing to do that.