The Best Seats
In The House

A locked out bleacher sat in the gymnasium at Napanee District Secondary School (NDSS), condemned due to a number of safety concerns when the phone call came in. It was our friends at the Limestone District School Board and they needed a solution ahead of the new school year.

For a number of years now, we’ve been helping the Anglophone South School District (ASSD) in beautiful New Brunswick update and upgrade their athletic facilities and equipment. Serving as one of only seven school districts that service the maritime province, their role in shaping the lives of future generations is something they take very seriously.

Along with that role includes promoting health and safety across all of their schools and in their facilities. As we’ve mentioned many times before, a big part of what we do is assess aging equipment and replace those no longer deemed safe for use. A big portion of the unsafe equipment that we deal with are outdated telescopic bleachers.

In the fall of 2021 we received an invitation to visit Loyalist College and tour the school’s football field. Located in Belleville, ON, our team made the trip to not only have a better feel for the facility, but to also meet with key stakeholders about future plans for the busy field.

Loyalist’s women’s soccer program has been picking up steam over the past few years with more and more spectators attending their home games. In addition to the soccer club, the local football team, known as the Quinte Skyhawks is also making waves, using the field for their home bouts.

Nestled southwest of the city of Barrie, Essa Township provides the perfect opportunity to residents looking for a rural lifestyle without sacrificing access to amenities. Located a mere 100 kilometers from Toronto, it also offers a commutable community to those working in Toronto and the surrounding areas.

It was earlier this year when we were approached by key stakeholders from the township who were looking to make some improvements to a local baseball diamond. With over 25 sports fields, pads and facilities across the region, athletics and physical activity is something that residents in this family-oriented community value most.

Unique product offerings attract unique projects and at one of our most recent opportunities in beautiful Boise, Idaho, a state-of-the-art facility found a home for one of our most specialized products. It was a couple of years ago when a sizable architectural firm in the United States reached out to us with questions regarding our high-humidity telescopic bleacher systems.

Designed specifically for high-humidity areas such as pool decks, our product offering is very unique in its design. Constructed using a galvanized steel understructure paired with stainless-steel hardware, we are proud to be one of the very few supplying this highly specialized product in North America.

A common question we field from customers is determining first, the number of seats needed, and then pairing that number with the proper sized bleacher system.

As a general rule of thumb, we recommend about 18” of space for an individual seat. Meaning for every 18” of space per seating platform, you should attribute one seat. For illustration purposes we will use our 4-Tier Aluminum Bleachers (model: BL-4TB-12DR ), measuring at 144" x 82" x 38" for a total of 576” of total seating space. Divide that number by our standard 18” per person measurement and you are looking at seating for about 32 people. This is an easy calculation to help you assess your seating needs.

Bleacher Sizes            

Here is a quick breakdown of our standard bleachers and sizes (contact us for custom sizes), and please note that all of our bleacher systems feature welded steel frame work for ultimate durability and a virtually maintenance free seating solution:

Image: Daily Telegraph

When we think about the word “condemned”, we often think of derelict properties  and barely standing buildings on the outskirts of town.  In addition to these commonly conjured images, many bleachers get condemned across Canada and the United States each and every year.

With aging schools and equipment, and especially with equipment located outdoors, degredation is a problem that is difficult to avoid. With time and continued exposure to the elements, even aluminum bleachers are subject to breaking down in one way or another. It’s important to keep an eye on your bleachers and the understructure on which they are built. 

We field many questions here on a daily basis and one that comes up more often than most would think, is the difference between Grandstand and Stadium Bleacher seating. This quick article will go over the two setups in detail, including the main differences, draw backs and benefits to each seating system.

Grandstands

Grandstands  are the larger, more complex seating systems when comparing the two. Grandstands may have basic bench seating-but can also feature individual chair back seats. They can sometimes be seen covered with a roof-but are open on the front, can be multi-tiered, have various-sized press boxes and can feature a covered bandstand.

Stadium Bleachers

Bleachers are much smaller than grandstands and are both much more basic and versatile. They consist of raised, tiered rows of benches. Stairways access the horizontal rows at each stair step. Stadium bleachers are commonly found at places like high school baseball fields, softball fields, soccer fields, rodeos and racetracks. 

For one of our recent projects, we were back up in the beautiful Ottawa Valley to once again assist the Renfrew County District School Board with an outdated problem at MacKenzie High School.

As with all things and the natural passage of time, seating structures can degrade and wear out, requiring repair or replacement. Depending on the age of the school, many of these bleacher structures were installed decades ago and have since become inoperable or just plain unsafe to operate. 

Depending on who you ask, some may tell you that the gymnasium inside an academic institution is the heart of the building. As it is often located centrally inside a building, it naturally and easily exists as the location where gatherings take place.

In addition to assemblies and other events, gymnasiums are the hub for indoor sports, attracting spectators not only from within the school but those from outside as well, such as friends and family.

As athletic programming continues to ramp up across Canada and the United States, these institutions are doing everything they can to remain relevant with regards to the programs they offer, as well as with the equipment located inside their gymnasiums.

As with any high traffic area, the opportunity to more actively brand your organization or team is highly beneficial in the gymnasium of a highly spirited school.  With many of the walls already adorned with banners and ribbons from years gone by, today’s institutions are starting from the ground up when it comes to branding their beloved schools.