The Best Seats
In The House

It's probably safe to say that we have all found ourselves sitting in some bleachers at one time or another in our lives. Sports and community events are deeply weaved into North American culture and cheering on our favourite team is a pastime we hold close to our hearts.

These large seating structures are found across sports fields, parks and recreational areas, and educational facilities. As our family members, teammates, classmates, friends and family hone their skills out on the field, ice or turf, we support them from the aluminum and steel bleachers that sit along the sidelines.

In addition to items such as handrails and guardrails, there is much that goes into the complex design of bleachers when it comes to safety. As nothing ruins an event more than an injury, our industry has spent decades perfecting our products to make them safer for all to use.

Heading into the great American Midwest, one of our recent projects landed us in the beautiful state of Missouri. Located roughly 50 miles outside of St. Louis, this project took us to the city of Union where, along with our partners at Carrol Seating, we were commissioned to design a truly unique bleacher.

As the city’s only secondary school, our project was anchored at Union High School, just west of the city. With one seating structure already in place on the home side of the school’s football field, the school district was looking to complement the existing bleacher with another. Given that the current bleacher was not terribly accessible for those in wheelchairs, the mandate of this project was to ensure that the next phase of seating would be completely ADA compliant, allowing all of their fan base access to the bleachers.

Whether you are working on designing a new outdoor sports field, community park, greenspace or other athletic facility, there is so much that goes into the planning process.

When it comes to athletics, we are immediately drawn to what is required to play the game. Items such as soccer goals, football uprights, turf, field paint, etc. are usually the first to get squared away. Following closely behind is the determination as to what kind of seating will be required for the new location. While requirements definitely differ from location to location and are based on what prospective sport is scheduled to be played, most will settle on either a smaller 3-10 row bleacher structure or opt for a larger seating structure such as a complete grandstand.

The complementary amenities market is exploding as designers, planners and operators are looking for additional ways to make the most out of their facility. Below we have broken down the top three site amenities suited to accommodate your next bleacher seating purchase.

In the 40 years in which we have been in operation, our proudest accomplishment has been not only our rapid expansion in Canada and the US, but also into other foreign markets such as Kuwait, Barbados, and Europe among many others.

Once again, we were fortunate to have another international invitation to bring athletic equipment abroad, this time to the African nation of the Republic of Uganda. Located in east-central Africa in the Great Lakes region, the country is completely landlocked except for a portion of their border on Africa’s largest lake, Lake Victoria.

Near the end of 2016, our team was directly contacted by Richard Stanley from the 303 Development Group located in Staten Island, New York to discuss the possibility of a new multipurpose sports facility in Uganda. As a part of an expansion to the Allen VR Stanley Secondary School, the facility was in the process of planning a new indoor pavilion that would accommodate sports such as basketball, badminton, volleyball and many other events. The construction of such a facility would prove to be the first of its kind in the Republic of Uganda and one that had everyone very excited.

Sounds a bit crude, doesn’t it?

It’s a word we often use here in the industry and not surprisingly one that we often field a lot of questions about.

Given the apparent root of the word, many of those who have never heard it immediately think we are referring to either a rest room or a shortcut to one through a maze of aluminum seating. Truthfully, the latter isn’t terribly far off.

History of Vomitory

The original Latin translation from the word vomitorium was derived from vomere to be defined as “disgorging the spectators”. The definition became more defined through the mid 1700s when the first known use of vomitory was recorded and defined as “an entrance piercing the banks of seats of a theatre, amphitheater, or stadium” according to the good folks at Merriam-Webster.

Situated in northwestern Alberta, Grand Prairie lies roughly 450 km from Edmonton and makes up the southern portion of what is known as Peace River Country.

Introduced in the mid-1970s, the Alberta Games (then known as the Alberta Winter Games) were created to motivate Albertans to achieve a higher level of physical fitness through sport while showcasing the talent of local residents.

Each year a new host city is chosen in the province and last summer’s instalment was chosen to be held in Grand Prairie, celebrating Alberta’s athletes of all ages.

Working closely with our partners at Omni Sport located just outside of Edmonton, the City of Grand Prairie was interested in a completely new grandstand for the Alberta Games ahead of the summer of 2018.  

When it comes to extreme sports, skateboarding and BMX riding provide the recipe for heart-pulsing excitement and thrills for both spectators and participants.

Naturally, in this type of environment, safety is a prime concern. No matter the skill level, the chances of a collision or crash are extremely high and for those operating these types of facilities, there are many areas that can be made safer.  

While we are used to working with traditional sports such as hockey, football, basketball and more we also do quite a bit of work in the extreme sports realm, even working closely with many Hollywood stunt teams.

Facilities that house extreme sports almost always require safety padding, which often comes customized, as each facility can be completely different.

Gymnasium use for a multitude of activities is on the rise, leading to a greater demand for proper and safe separation of these athletic spaces to maximize their functionality.

Whether your facility is in need of an upgraded divider for safety reasons or you are shopping for a new divider for an existing gym or new build, there are a number of factors to keep in mind during the planning process.

While relatively simple in design, their nuances can impact not only how the curtains themselves perform but also how they impact the functionality of your gymnasium as a whole. Here’s a few design elements to keep in mind before you purchase your next gym divider curtain.

After working closely with the good people at George Brown College in Toronto back in 2016 and 2017, our paths crossed once again this past summer. Initially, we got paired with the college when their St. James Campus was looking to replace their existing basketball systems but were faced with a huge logistical challenge.

Situated on the sixth floor of the building, the gymnasium at the St. James Campus was thought to be inaccessible to large equipment such as basketball systems. Fortunately, our team was able to come up with an innovative solution that would allow the systems to enter the building normally, without the expense of crane rentals and window removal.

Athletic facilities are popular for a variety of events. Some facilities are designed for multi-purpose use while others are designed specifically for sporting events. Regardless of how your facility is used, safety is always a key concern, especially considering the high volume of people using the equipment.

From spectators using the bleachers to athletes using the basketball backstops again and again, routine inspection and maintenance is a must. Just as wear and tear occurs on a vehicle, any athletic facility also requires attention.

When you consider the frequency, weight and movement that occurs on bleachers during an event, the necessity of routine maintenance quickly becomes apparent. Basketball backstops, which can weigh several hundred pounds, also pose a great concern if neglected.