The Best Seats
In The House

Bourgade Catholic High School was founded back in 1962 by Bishop Green to serve Catholic students on Phoenix’s west side and is named after Archbishop Peter Bourgade, a French missionary priest. Boasting a 27-acre campus that offers a college-preparatory curriculum with a strong emphasis on Catholic formation, the school enrolls around 350-400 students in grades 9-12. 

In addition to its academics, Bourgade ranks in the top 20% of Arizona private schools for sports and extracurriculars, offering 12 interscholastic sports including football, basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball, softball along with clubs like Student Council, which earned National Gold Council Excellence Awards from 2013-2016. Serving as home to the Golden Eagles, the school unfortunately had two of their outdoor bleachers recently handed failing grades after being inspected.

As part of the upcoming Canada Games in St. John's, which are set to take place from August 8 to 25, 2025, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, we've been tapped with helping supply a few grandstand seating structures.  As part of the 16th edition of the Canada Summer Games and the 31st overall Canada Games, this is the third time Newfoundland and Labrador has hosted the event (previously in 1977 and 1999) and the second time for St. John's specifically (previously in 1977). The Games are Canada’s largest multi-sport event, bringing together over 4,800 athletes, coaches, and managers from all 13 provinces and territories to compete in 19 sports across 17 disciplines.

Working down in eastern Canada is one of the many perks of our organization. We’ve been building a better game across Canada since the late 1970s, and that includes some wonderful projects over the past few years in beautiful New Brunswick.

As part of Canada’s maritime provinces, it’s a beautiful part of the country and one that we thoroughly enjoy working in any time we get the chance. In having an established relationship with our partners at Interior Visions for a number of years now, we’ve only since grown our market share in the region, a true testament to both our relationship with our partners in eastern Canada and our products.

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (AFN), formerly known as the Chippewas of Sarnia, is a First Nations community of approximately 2,500 Chippewa (Ojibwe) Aboriginal people, with 900 residing on the Reserve. Located on the St. Clair River, 3 miles south of Lake Huron's southern tip, the community is situated within Sarnia's city limits in southwestern Ontario, directly across the US border from Port Huron, Michigan.

Having worked with a number of First Nations communities across both Canada and the United States, we were thrilled to have been brought into this project. We were first contacted by the community’s Manager of Community Services who was looking for help with replacing some outdated equipment in the facility’s gymnasium.

In yet another instance of a recurring issue faced by aging institutions, a local school board found itself at an impasse with its aging folding partition. The once-functional partition, responsible for dividing the school’s large gymnasium into separate areas, had reached a point of disrepair.

Years of constant use and wear and tear had taken their toll on the folding partition. Its once smooth operation had become a thing of the past, replaced by a frustrating series of jams and other malfunctions. The financial burden of maintaining and repairing the aging partition had finally come to a point where it made little sense to continue with the dated partition.

While renting bleachers might initially appear to be a budget-friendly option for sporadic or even annual  events, a deeper analysis reveals a multitude of drawbacks compared to the long-term benefits of investing in permanent bleachers. For many facility owners and operators out there,  the bleacher rental game can, at times, feel like a hamster wheel that you can never get off. 

There is little doubt that the initial cost of ordering and installing permanent bleachers may seem daunting (and expensive), it’s worth noting that the long-term cost savings can be substantial. Rental bleachers undoubtedly come with a long list of drawbacks including recurring expenses, availability among many other factors. Permanent bleachers, on the other hand, are a one-time investment that have the ability to eliminate these ongoing costs and headaches almost instantly.

In addition to the above, here’s a few other costs associated with bleacher rentals which can make you feel as though you are running in circles.

Serving as a state-of-the-art fitness facility located in the heart of Mississauga, Lifetime Fitness was established in 2012, and was the organization's first location in Canada. Since then, the company has aggressively grown in both Canada and the United States and we’ve been fortunate not only to help launch the Mississauga location, but also their Ajax and Vaughn locations as well.

During the launch phase at the Mississauga location, we had helped them with a large gym divider curtain that was still in place, but had been taking a beating as of late. Knowing exactly who to call for their gym dividing needs, their team once again picked up the phone and reached out to us in search of a possible replacement.

Removable wall padding was once a ubiquitous feature in school gymnasiums, but it has progressively fallen out of favor due to a multitude of safety concerns and maintenance issues. The primary issue stemmed from the fact that the padding was, by design, removable. This feature, while intended to allow for flexibility and occasional removal for cleaning or other athletic purposes, was often exploited by students who would deliberately take the pads off the walls. This not only left unsightly gaps and exposed hard surfaces, creating a risk of impact injuries, but also led to the pads themselves being damaged or lost.

The process of reinstalling the pads was also often carried out haphazardly, with little regard for proper alignment or secure attachment. This resulted in pads that were misaligned, loose, or even completely detached, posing a significant hazard to students engaged in physical activity. The constant removal and replacement also led to accelerated wear and tear on both the pads and the wall surfaces, necessitating frequent repairs and replacements.

When it comes to designing your new bleacher system, the process should be filled with excitement and anticipation. Envisioning the roar of the crowd and the energy of the game can be thrilling as you plan this new project for your school or athletic facility. While the process may seem daunting at first, with the right guidance and support, it can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

When we first get into a conversation about pricing for new bleachers, there are several important factors that need to be considered. As a starting point, it's crucial to understand that a wide range of bleacher configurations can be designed and built to meet specific client needs. However, one of the most critical aspects to discuss early in the process is the available footprint or space where the bleachers will be installed.