Charleston Gazette

August 16, 2007

Bleacher builder agrees to let another firm start foundations

By Davin White
Staff writer

People are so nervous about the bleachers at Herbert Hoover High School that an elderly fan offered about 20 church pews to take their place.

“I don’t know if that’s ever been done on a football field before,” said Kirk Rector, president of the school’s athletic boosters. “We may have a prayer meeting afterwards. Pray for new bleachers.”

Herbert Hoover is among six Kanawha County high schools scheduled to receive new bleachers this fall. All six projects have been delayed.

Chuck Wilson, facilities planning administrator for the school district, said the situation might have improved Wednesday. Still, he’s wary of promises Texas-based contractor Steel Stadiums has offered of late.

A woman who answered the phone at Steel Stadiums said the company did not want to comment.

The company has agreed to let St. Albans-based Environmental Management Construction work on the bleacher foundations at Sissonville, Nitro and Herbert Hoover high schools.

Crews should start work at Sissonville and Nitro today or Friday, Wilson said. Whichever crew finishes first will head to Hoover, he said.

The St. Albans project is further along. Wilson expects steel for the bleachers to be erected starting today.

Still, he said St. Albans, Sissonville and Hoover may have to move their first home football games. Nitro’s situation is better, he said.

Rector plans to represent Hoover parents at a Board of Education meeting tonight. Concerned parents at Sissonville and Hoover met Tuesday night.

Among the options: playing without the bleachers at Hoover’s site, holding a game or two at Riverside’s Warrior Stadium or playing at Laidley Field in Charleston.

Under the last option, Rector would hope to sell refreshments instead of using Laidley’s concessions and losing most of the school’s $2,500 per-game proceeds. He also plans to ask board members if Hoover could still collect gate-fee proceeds at Laidley, which brings in $7,000 to $8,000 per home game, he said.

Busing students across the county to Riverside would mean extra expense for school officials, he said.

If construction is far along when Hoover has its first home game Sept. 7, equipment and other hazards in Elkview could pose safety concerns, he said. The same goes for Sissonville, where some supporters want to play without bleachers.

Steve Edwards Jr., football coach at George Washington High, said the school must cancel an annual game on its home field with Nitro because it also lacks bleachers.

GW usually plays home games at Laidley Field, but seniors look forward to the one home game each fall, he said.

“It’s been good for the community, it’s been good for the kids,” he said. “Our kids are really disappointed.”

Junior varsity and ninth-grade football games will go on without the bleachers.

South Charleston High School is also getting new bleachers this fall, but not at Oakes Field, its home site for football. Principal Mike Arbogast said Wednesday that he is willing to accommodate the other high school teams, something St. Albans Principal Thomas Williams has already inquired about.

Wilson has acknowledged several delays with the project and his own frustration with Steel Stadiums. Its contract expires late next month, and a $750-per-day penalty, including weekends, kicks in by October if the project isn’t done.

About two weeks ago, the state Division of Labor removed two Steel Stadiums workers from the St. Albans job site. The workers “did not have their papers in order” and may have been illegal workers, Wilson said.

Rector said he doesn’t want to blame and point fingers at tonight’s board meeting, but suggested that if things aren’t fixed soon, voters might not be so quick to renew excess levies in the future. A levy approved in 2003 is paying for the bleacher renovations.

To contact staff writer Davin White, use e-mail or call 348-1254.