Boys & Girls Club installs new metal bleachers
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 29, 2009 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MITCH LOEBER
New bleachers have been installed at the Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County. The $42,000 project provided three sets of aluminum bleachers, replacing ones that had been at the Royall Avenue site since 1969.
The 40-year-old bleachers at the Boys and Girls Club have been replaced.
Three sets of state-of-the-art aluminum bleachers were recently installed, replacing five sets that have been at the Royall Avenue site since around 1969, said Mary Ann Dudley, executive director.
"The old bleachers, if history serves me right, have been here since 1968 or 1969," she said. "The building opened in 1968. The concession stands and 'barn' were built by the Father's Club in 1969, so I think that is when the bleachers were installed."
The former bleachers did not meet today's safety requirements, she said -- particularly spacing between the seats and foot boards and side rails.
"After much research, to repair the old bleachers to meet safety codes was cost-prohibitive compared to replacing them," she said. "So with football upon us, the board of directors moved forward in replacing the old bleachers with up-to-date aluminum bleachers with proper railing."
The $42,000 project was funded through private donations, with an estimated $15,000-$20,000 still owed, she pointed out. Efforts are now being directed toward contibutions for the project so that money doesn't come out of the club's general operations budget.
"It was a big undertaking for the board. We had to dismantle the other bleachers, which we did," she said. "But the board stepped up to the plate to make the decision that we needed to do what was right."
In addition to being safer, the new bleachers also provide more seating than the original five sets that were replaced, Mrs. Dudley said.