Nestled smack dab in the middle of the Rocky Mountains lies historic Bozeman, located in the southwest portion of the great state of Montana. While not the most populous city in the state, Bozeman does serve as home to the state’s largest university and flagship campus of the Montana State University System, Montana State University (MSU).
With enrolment of roughly 17,000 students, MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 51 fields, master’s degrees in 41 fields and doctoral degrees in 18 fields spread across its nine colleges. Over the past decade, the school has enjoyed monumental growth in both enrolment with major construction and renovation projects including a new Animal Bioscience Building and a major renovation to Gaines Hall.
During the winter months of 2019, our team was contacted by our partners at Lutey Construction located in Bozeman, who had been involved in a number of major projects with the school over the past few years. With a level of established comfort with the team at Lutey Construction, MSU presented a unique opportunity that called for a highly customized bleacher seating structure for their outdoor track and field area.
Looking to accommodate upwards of 180 spectators on the seating structure, Lutey Construction brought the project to our team to complete the design and manufacturing of the seating. Taking into account the available space, required seating and other variables, our technology team immediately began the design process.
After executing the ideal design, it was then presented to key stakeholders at MSU and met with instant approval, commencing the fabrication process. In addition to seating requirements, much like many seating structures designed today, this system also required customized ADA accessible notch-outs to ensure compatibility with all spectators.
With the manufacturing process complete, the bleacher system was shipped directly to MSU and was met by the team at Lutey Construction who planned and executed the flawless installation of the new seating structure.
Today, the 10-row bleacher adorns the sideline of the track where, hammer throw and track and field exercises are held, allowing students and spectators alike a unique opportunity to take in these exciting events.