Situated just west of the great city of Omaha lies the small village of Boys Town. Established in 1917, the village also has served as the headquarters for the Boys Town organization since its inception.
Founded by Father Edward J. Flanagan, the national organization dedicates itself to the care, treatment and education of at-risk children. Today the organization offers an array of youth care and health care services including helping children in crisis, treating complex conditions or helping parents locate the resources they need to help their families heal and grow in mind, body and spirit.
Working closely with our esteemed partners at Crouch Recreation, this project had been in the planning stages for nearly three years. Originally envisioned in 2017, the official kickoff of this project began in late 2019.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this project is the unique nature in which these grandstands were designed and constructed. While many operators choose to remove outdated bleachers and start fresh, stakeholders at Boys Town instead opted to have our team refurbish the grandstands that were already located at the community’s football field.
Because the existing seating structure no longer met stringent building and safety codes, our team was quickly brought in to assess its condition and to design a completely refurbished solution.
In addition to bringing the seating structure up to code, the updates called for a completely accessible bleacher for both home and visiting sides. This included custom ramps, ADA-seating areas and completely customized stairwells.
The first step involved was inspecting the understructure of the bleachers to determine whether or not the leg trusses and footings could be left in place. Fortunately, our teams determined that there was ample support to handle the pending upgrades to the bleachers.
The design process quickly followed as our drafts team accounted for all that was required in the new grandstands including working around outside obstructions such as light poles. Earlier this year, the final design was approved and the fabrication process began. Our team was diligent in not only designing the perfect solution, but also in getting it to our partners in Nebraska. Upon reception of the bleacher system, Crouch Recreation and Bierman Contracting made short work of the installation over the summer of 2020.