The Best Seats
In The House

Located just south of the city’s downtown core, the Heron Road Community Centre has been a staple for Ottawa residents since it first opened. The community hub now offers a wide selection of recreational activities for preschoolers to older adults, including dance classes, piano lessons, summer camps, sports, martial arts and fitness classes. 

The facility also boasts a weight and cardio room, a number of multi-use rooms, a kitchen, a new theatre, and a full-service gymnasium. Having a longstanding relationship with the City of Ottawa, we were brought in recently to assess the condition of a number of existing basketball systems in the aforementioned gymnasium.

It seems as though a new story of a set of condemned bleachers pops up in news headlines each and every week. As schools and municipalities scramble to install seating ahead of upcoming sports and summer seasons, there are times when issues such as code compliance get overlooked and can result in brand new bleachers surrounded by yellow caution tape. While code compliance can vary across municipalities and other jurisdictions, there are a few set guidelines that seem to transcend all of these regulations.

Those mostly include design aspects such as double-footboards and double-riser planks used on the top row of seating but can include other items such as guardrails on certain sizes of bleacher seating as well.

When it comes to sports in the state of Pennsylvania, there is arguably no better fan base on the planet. Whether vehemently cheering for the Eagles, Phillies or Flyers in the eastern portion of the state or the Penguins, Steelers and Pirates in the east, Pennsylvania has plenty to offer.

Add in premiere collegiate and high school sports and you’ve got a state that truly never stops producing. As part of that, we’ve had a long-standing relationship with the Keystone state and their athletic programming over the years. Having performed a number of projects with our former partners, Pennsylvania is one of those places that produced projects that we still talk about to this day.

While there’s nothing we enjoy more than building a better game out on the court or on the sports field, there are times when we take it indoors and enjoy some time with our esteemed partners.

With one of the strongest dealer networks on the planet, we’re admittedly a bit boastful of our dealers and all of the fabulous work they produce. From large-scale outdoor bleachers and grandstands to state-of-the-art indoor basketball systems, our team covers it all through our dealer network worldwide.

Earlier this month we were cordially invited to Gared Performance Sport Systems (formerly Performance Sport Systems) to take in their annual Architectural Equipment Dealer Show. The event took place just outside of beautiful Richmond, Virginia and the only thing that could have rivaled the beauty and charm of the Richmond area was the new venue in which the show was held.

Along with the arrival of spring,  the last couple of months has brought plenty of growth. Along with the sprouting of flowers and the budding of trees, it also marks a time for the re-emergence of outdoor sports, including baseball.

Serving as home to the Ottawa Titans baseball team, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park has been a fixture of Canada’s capital since it was built back in 1992. Having served a number of teams over the years, it’s become a staple of summer baseball here in our fair city.

We’ve done a wide array of basketball systems over the years in a number of different locations. From private residences, universities, colleges and high schools to community centres and summer camps, we feel like we’ve truly seen it all.

One of our more recent projects allowed us to continue to expand our portfolio of basketball system installations, adding off-campus student housing to the growing list. Located in the heart of Canada’s Capital, the THEO is conveniently located close to both the University of Ottawa and NIHN. Serving students from both of these respected institutions, the THEO exists to provide a safe, fun and most importantly, an affordable place for students to live off-campus.

When it comes to partnerships, it's something we take very seriously. Our dealer program has grown exponentially over the past decade, but still remains relatively small. Like a tight-knight group of hardworking organizations should, we always aim to keep the lines of communication open and the quality of the product we produce high.

In southern Ontario lies the picturesque municipality of Chatham-Kent, a rural area teeming with history. In addition to having been the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad in the 19th Century, it was also home to one particularly famous baseball player.

Born in Chatham and known locally as “Fergie”, Ferguson Jenkins was a prominent figure in the Chatham athletic community before getting his big break in the major leagues. Competing in track and field, ice hockey and basketball throughout his youth, it was baseball that became his ultimate love. With a career that spanned nearly 20 years in Major League Baseball, Fergie spent most of his time with the infamous Chicago Cubs. Throughout his career he amassed three all-star seasons, led both the National League and American League in wins, had over 3,000 strikeouts and was the first Canadian pitcher to win the Cy Young award.

Purchasing any sort of large equipment can be a daunting task, particularly if you have very little experience working with the piece of equipment you’ve been tasked with sourcing. Generally speaking, bleachers tend to fall into this category of equipment that the general public doesn’t have a lot of experience with.

For the majority of us, purchasing something such as bleachers is something that might happen every once and a while (although for some, it becomes an on-going thing). As such, product education is something that becomes very important when making purchasing decisions. 

When it comes to bleachers, it is important to get the basics right, hence why we put together this quick reference guide outlining the ideal bleacher purchasing process.

Follow along as we go start-to-finish through every step of the bleacher buying process and hopefully shed some light on the product, the people that build them and how to streamline the process for your organization moving forward.

Maybe it was a call, or perhaps a memo that landed on your desk. No matter how it was delivered, you were tasked with acquiring a new set of bleachers. Your new facility, park, sports field or school needs some seating and you have no idea which way to turn.

The good news is, you aren’t alone. While there are buyers that are well-versed in the world of aluminum spectator seating, there are also many that don’t have any experience at all.

When it comes to selecting a new bleacher, there are a few things to figure out before picking up the phone. Given that they come in different shapes, sizes and configurations, it’s important to have a general idea about what exactly you are looking for.

As such, here’s a few things that will catapult you on your way to finding the right bleacher system.