The Best Seats
In The House

While transportable or mobile bleachers are nothing new, the technology and development of these products have come a long way since their inception. We have been manufacturing mobile bleacher systems for a number of years and continue to manufacture towing kits that can easily be installed to existing bleachers, making them completely transportable as well.

Most of these systems, however, are typically smaller in size and are unable to seat large amounts of people without having multiple bleacher structures. The bulk of our portable bleacher systems range anywhere from 5-10 rows in height, which are a perfect fit for many applications, municipalities and other organizations.

However, when we begin to get into larger seating structures, there is a fair bit more ingenuity and technology involved, as illustrated in our newest line of highway transportable grandstand bleacher systems.

Nestled in the lower mainland of British Columbia, lies the City of Chilliwack, about an hour’s drive from the province’s largest city, Vancouver.  Boasting a population of roughly 84,000 residents, Chilliwack was incorporated back in 1873 and is one of the oldest municipalities in British Columbia. One of our most recent and rather interesting projects once again landed us in western Canada when the City of Chilliwack expressed interest in a need for a unique and versatile bleacher seating system.

The project went out to public tender and together with our partners at RecSport Products, we were able to secure this unique bleacher seating system in western Canada. The client was in need of a large-scale grandstand bleacher system that in addition to seating a fairly large crowd, could be easily transported to various locations when needed.

Grandstand bleachers on the artificial field. Millennium Park, Orleans, Ontario.

The project envisioned by Cumberland City Councillor Stephen Blais back in 2014 is finally coming to fruition. While the project is not complete at the time of this publication, the park has undergone a variety of construction and site upgrades located in the east end of Ottawa in the Orleans neighbourhood.

Blais spearheaded the unique $8 million park expansion in partnership with local homebuilders who ended up designing and funding the majority of the park. Millennium Park is slated to be the premier destination for sports clubs and casual users in the Orleans area, complete with state-of-the-art facilities and sports fields. Among the upgrades the park will have upon its completion are an artificial turf soccer and football field, stadium seating and lighting, nine full-size soccer fields, a junior-size soccer field, two ultimate Frisbee fields, 400m running track, two shade structures, club house for junior sports clubs, splash pad with both senior and junior play zones along with junior and senior play structures and swing sets.

An architect’s rendering of what the revitalized stadium could look like, c/o Queen's University

Sport Systems Canada Inc. is pleased to announce they have been awarded the Richardson Stadium Grandstands contract by Queen’s University.

Richardson Stadium is a historically significant sports venue for Queen’s, Kingston, and Canada. The stadium played host to national and regional games as well as a Roosevelt speech. The third edition Richardson Stadium will be an important competitive sports venue and recreational facility for Queen’s and the broader local and regional community.

Demolition at the site began in late October, at which time a number of architectural designs were released to the public displaying the future of Richardson Stadium.

“As part of this large revitalization project, we will design, fabricate and install the new grandstands that will house approximately 8,500 spectators. One of the main goals of this project is to drastically improve sightlines and provide seating that is closer to the field of play. To achieve this goal, we are designing an elevated first row of seating consistent with current stadium design, allowing spectators an unobstructed view, as well as moving the entire seating bowl closer to the field to enhance the spectator experience,” said Jeff Hurrle, Vice President & General Manager, Sport Systems Canada Inc.

One of our more recently completed projects brought us just north of Toronto, to the town of Newmarket. Situated in the York region of the Greater Toronto Area, Newmarket is a consistent favourite of MoneySense Magazine when they select the Best Places to Live in Canada each year. Its unique location between the busy streets of downtown Toronto and the cottage country further north, allows this picturesque town the ability to offer the best in amenities, while holding on to its small town charm.

Our project was based at the Magna Centre, located just south of Newmarket’s downtown core. The Magna Centre is a state-of-the-art recreation complex that boasts an Olympic-sized ice rink, three NHL-sized ice rinks, a 25-metre community pool, a 21-metre learning pool, a full-size gymnasium, a walking track, three multi-purpose rooms, a restaurant, pro-shop, as well as the Newmarket Sports Hall of Fame.

When planning a large construction project such as the design and installation of a large-scale bleacher or grandstand structure, it is important to evaluate the materials used for the base of the structure. A number of variables come in to play when planning a new bleacher build, including but not limited to: structure strength, budget and spectator safety.

The three main types of construction for these large structures are concrete, wood, and steel frames and studs. While each has its advantages and drawbacks, we will go through each process in depth below to help you make the best decision possible for your new grandstand bleacher structure.

Earlier this summer, we were awarded the contract to design, fabricate and install the grandstand bleachers for the new Greater Vernon Athletics Park (GVAP) in Coldstream, British Columbia. Located in the heart of the picturesque Okanagan Valley, the GVAP consists of a synthetic turf field, synthetic running track, natural turf field, complete track and field facilities, and a new building that houses concessions, washrooms, a classroom, officials’ rooms and change rooms.

This project was unique as the site had been carved out and required the bleacher structure to be built on a remaining hillside on the site. The top of the hill featured an existing asphalt pathway, so as part of our design process, we were required to ensure that the top deck of the bleacher would sit flush with the path above. The bottom or front of the bleacher was also designed to house an existing electrical kiosk, and is now located beneath the structure with a custom-designed access door, granting maintenance staff easy access when needed. Given the unique state of the grounds, our team was also responsible for the structural design of the concrete foundations that the bleacher would eventually bear on.

This past June, our team got to work on a large, customized arena bleacher project with our partners at Omni Sport in Frog Lake, Alberta. This large project consisted of a clear-span beam-styled design that would allow the existing dressing rooms to be located beneath the bleachers upon completion.

The first phase of this project saw our team design a custom rise-and-run combination to accommodate the set mezzanine that was designed to be loaded from the top.  The aluminum decking was then installed to successfully complete the initial phase of this project.

As this grandstand was designed for use in an arena, the second phase of this project entailed a seating solution that would not only provide comfort to spectators, but that would also provide more warmth than the exposed aluminum decking would in a cold environment.

As time passes us by, the equipment in our facilities does not always necessarily need replacement. Obviously this statement is contingent on a number of factors such as how the equipment or machinery was maintained, its age, current condition, and operational soundness of the equipment in question.

These are some of the biggest reasons we employ and recommend regularly scheduled maintenance on equipment such as, basketball systems, bleachers and grandstands and also have our own in-house inspection program for athletic facilities. Our Orange Zone inspection program is the most thorough inspection for athletic facilities and covers all areas of the gymnasium and each piece of equipment utilized by that organization.

Our most recent project took us to a local high school which, much the same as a number of facilities today, had a set of older telescopic bleachers and was interested in giving them somewhat of a facelift. After assessing the equipment, our team and the facility operators came to the conclusion that the existing bleachers were in great shape, but could use one of the main benefits of today’s telescopic bleacher seating systems; electrical operation.

Our most recent project brought us to the Township of Sables-Spanish Rivers, a quaint community nestled between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The township is situated in the foothills region of Lake Huron’s North Shore and was officially incorporated in 1998.

The site of the project landed us at the Massey & District Community Centre, which encompasses a standard-sized baseball diamond, a fully enclosed outdoor basketball court, a single arena ice rink pad with full canteen service, as well as a licensed hall with a full kitchen for special events and rentals.

The township called on us to aid them in updating the bleacher seating located inside the ice rink before the upcoming hockey season began. The existing arena bleachers were out of date and unfortunately no longer compliant with recent updates in the Ontario Building Code. After the details were received, our designers got to work designing the new bleachers to be installed at the community centre. Some customization was needed as the new bleacher structure had to be notched out around the columns of the pre-engineered building.