By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The estimated cost for new bleachers at the Bowling Green High School
football stadium was nothing to cheer about Tuesday evening.
Replacement of the aging, rusting bleachers could cost as much as
$610,845, according to Kent Buehrer, of Buehrer Group, which is in
charge of the project. The estimate came in higher than projections made
in the fall, which topped out at $500,000.
Buehrer told the BG board of education that he would try to reduce the final price tag. But if it can’t be
trimmed, the project will eat up the district’s entire 1.2-mill
permanent improvement levy revenue for the year, according to district
treasurer Rhonda Melchi.
A section of the 50-year-old bleachers had to be closed off last fall
after it was noticed that the steel scaffolding beneath the seats was
rusting. To get through the remainder of the football season, the
district put temporary bleachers up on the north end of the field.
“We don’t want anyone to get injured,” school board president Paul
Walker said.
The new bleachers will cover the same approximate footprint of the
existing seating, Buehrer said. However, building codes for restrooms at
the facility are much more extensive than when it was first built. He
described the current restrooms as “fairly minimal.” Buehrer said he is
working with the county building inspection department to see if the new
restrooms, planned next to the wrestling building, can avoid some of the
stringent requirements.
According to Buehrer, the visitor bleachers on the east will have
seating for 750. The home seating on the west will have seating for
2,000, with the length stretching from the current 210 feet to 235 feet.
“That adds some expenses,” he said.
The press box will remain the same.
Initially, the district planned to spend about $165 per bleacher
seat. That amount has grown a bit, with the estimates at: $357,495 for
the home side, $129,750 for the visitors side, and close to $100,000 for
the restrooms.
Buehrer told the board he hopes to have plans for the project done next
week. He will report back to the board in February.
Some of the old bleachers will remain in place for the track season this spring, while some of
the bleachers will be demolished in April.
The plan is to have the new bleachers completed by Aug. 12, a couple weeks prior to the school’s
first football game.
